No Sword Forged Stronger
by Warrior's Creed
Summary: When Hyrule is threatened by the evil of Soul Edge, Link must embark on another great journey. He soon learns that he too, has his limits, and that they require a new kind of strength to overcome. A strength he never realized was always there.
1. Wandering Soul

Author Notes

First off, I would like to thank all readers and reviewers in advance for taking an interest in my story. I am new here to and I hope that my stories prove to be well-written enough to be hosted on this website. There are a few things I would like to explain before we start this story. First of all, I don't even own my own computer, much less Soul Calibur or Zelda. Second, some of you may notice that I am using Twilight Princess as Link's background, even though technically the Link in Soul Calibur 2 is from Ocarina of Time. I'm using creative license. So please do not mention that, I am well aware of it and I decided to write it this way because this is the inspiration I received. Third, I welcome reviews and criticism, and would greatly appreciate reviews of all sorts. However, I do NOT appreciate mindless flaming. There is a fine line between harsh criticism and pointless insults.

So, now that I'm done preaching, please enjoy my very first Soul Calibur story!

End Author Notes

**Soul Calibur II**

**No Sword Forged Stronger**

Chapter 1: Wandering Soul

* * *

The creaking of a wooden chair echoes through the halls of the old run-down cottage. Lights from the fireplace danced across a weary wrinkled face, furrowed deep in concern and thought. The blue eyes, serene and sad, stared into those lights constantly flickering back and forth, as if in a constant battle of light and shadow on the elderly man's face. The short grey hair of the man every now and then fell into his bleak face, only to be absentmindedly brushed aside by an aged finger. He moved slowly back and forth in the wooden chair, even though it was solidly planted on the ground on its four legs. Somewhere outside, the howl of a coyote outside preceded the rising of the moon.

"He said he'd be here by nightfall. That boy is probably walking to the door this very second." The old man said quietly to himself. No sooner had those words left his mouth when three sharp bangs of a fist on wood broke the silence of the humble home.

"Speak of the devil." The elderly figure muttered in a withdrawn voice before he rose from his resting place and made his way to the door. The floor creaked in protest under the man's solid leather boots before he came to a halt in front of the rather shabby wooden door. "Ha, This place is falling apart. Maybe I should get this place looked at one of these days." He sighed again before turning the brass doorknob and swinging the door open to welcome in a young man, perhaps roughly the age of twenty.

He was in good physical shape, his body was well-toned and sturdy, his skin was the fair tan of someone who was outside a lot. He wearily ran a hand through his sweat-soaked blond hair. A proud green tunic covered his body, over a blue-white undershirt. And a light chainmail shirt could be barely seen in between those two garments. An old and battered, but well-kept and sturdy shield covered a sword sheathe on the young man's back. It was blue, with multiple red designs and a single golden design of three golden triangles all arranged with one empty triangular space between them. His leather boots were almost identical, though a bit more worn, than the ones worn by the elderly man.

"Ah, yes, come in, come in. You've been saying that you wanted to talk to me." The elderly man, followed by the youth, walked inside his humble cottage. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you." The youth replied wearily. He gazed around at the old wood, the weathered ceiling, obviously patched several times, even the stool the old man sat back down on seemed ready to break under its own weight. "This place looks like it's about to fall apart."

The old man chuckled lightly to himself, "Yes, well, it's home all the same." He then shot a puzzling glance at man standing in the middle of the living room. A man, whom was but a boy to this old timer. He chuckled lightly to himself, then said, "You know, that old thing behind you, it's called a couch." He motioned to the old couch near the fireplace. "Wonderful idea really, the concept of sitting comfortably on your butt while you carry on a conversation. Must have taken a real genius to come up with it."

"All right, I got the point." The 'youngster' said as he sat down into the moth-eaten furniture

"Well then, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"I..." the youth started hesitantly, obviously unsure how to word his statements, "I don't know. I feel...lost. I mean, I am a warrior. I fight. But..." He stopped for a moment. "I can't do this anymore. The fighting, the killing. I have enemies stronger than I will ever be. But I don't feel just physically outmatched but...as if I am losing a battle in my very soul."

The old man listened intently and remained silent for a moment. Then smiled, a warm, loving smile. "I see."

"What do I do?"

The old man did not respond. Instead, he rose from his chair and walked into the back of his house. There was a momentary pause in his footsteps, followed soon by the resuming of the creaking of moving feet on the floor. As he sat back down, he carried something long, wrapped in leather and bound in thin ropes to hold the leather tightly closed.

"What is that?" The young man inquired.

"A memento from a long time ago. Something very precious to me." His old hands skillfully undid the knots and removed the ropes, then unfolded the leather. What was produced was absolutely breathtaking.

It was perhaps four feet in length, with multiple designs etched into the steel of the weapon. It's hilt, a golden color, with a single red jewel in the pommel of the hilt. The guard extended outwards, like that of a standard blade, but then turned upwards to go parallel with the blade, like some trident with a far longer middle prong. Multiple etchings were carved into the golden hilt, almost looking like exotic writing, and where the hilt ended was the design of a fearsome eagle, with the blade protruding from its open beak.

"That is an impressive weapon. Is it the same one you wielded a long time ago?"

The elderly man shook his head, "No, this weapon is not mine, though it is not unfamiliar to me. But it's history is a tale that might help you understand yourself. You see young one, I know what your problem is."

"Can't you just tell me?"

The man sighed, "Patience young one, it is not so simple as to just tell you how to fix it. You must find the answer. I am just helping you in that process. Now, would you like to listen to my tale, or should we call it a night right here?"

The young man in green shook his head, "No, I'm sorry, I was ungrateful. Please, tell me your story."

"All right then. Now, then, this began many years ago..."

* * *

This forest was a fond memory. One he wanted to savor. One last time here, before he left. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, breathing in the crisp morning air. He wouldn't even be able to bring Epona with him this time. No, this time, he must go alone. He clenched his fist in anger. He had wanted so badly to live a peaceful life. He had seen enough battle to last him a lifetime. Why was he going off to wage war against evil again?

A quick memory of his friend flashed through his head, and he knew why.

"Ilia..."

* * *

_The rain fell heavily from the sky, the storm seemed to come out of nowhere. Villagers were rushing to and fro, finding children, Sera was taking one last minute to lock up the shop, Rusl hurried off to find Colin and bring him inside,, and Link? He was herding goats into the barn. According to Fado, they get cranky when they get wet. Link couldn't quite recall where this storm had come from, all he could remember is the sky being clear one moment and all of the water storehouses of heaven being open the next._

_Water storehouses of heaven? Wow, while his adventures worked wonders for his swordsmanship, apparently his creativity was not so profoundly affected. It was official, Link was never going to be an author._

_With the last goat herded, Link left a sopping wet Epona at the ranch this night and ran his muddy self home. He cursed himself for his luck, but seeing how deep the mud was, he was probably going to have gotten muddy whether or not he had fallen off Epona that earlier day. He couldn't quite remember how THAT happened. He just remembered being grateful that he wasn't that clumsy when he battled the King of Evil._

_And here he was, running his way home, all for Epona's sake. It was just as well, if he rode Epona home to where there was no shelter, he certainly would have received a harsh tongue-lashing from a certain horse-loving young woman. Link could swear that he was almost downright jealous of Epona at times. His soaked hands grasped the ladder to his home and he began the short climb up to his house. For some reason unknown to him, he couldn't quite seem to get his mind off of the fact that he was the only person who had to climb a ladder to get into his house. And another to get into his bed. As he climbed, lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a roar of thunder that shook the trees. Link frowned as he looked up, knowing that there was a fair chance his tall house could be struck by lightning. Well, he couldn't worry about that now. He reached the doorknob and quickly stepped inside the warm comfort of his home. The first thing to catch his eyes was the fire. He had only just gotten home, so someone else must have come over and made themselves comfortable. Who made it was the second thing he noticed._

_"Oh, Link! I was wondering when you'd be home."_

_A pretty young woman with short blond hair sat in the middle of Link's home. She wore a simple white tunic and brown pants, with a pouch tied to her leg. She was young, perhaps eighteen or so, and she held a pleasant, cheerful, look on her face. About her neck was a small, well-carved, wooden locket that Link had given to her for her eighteenth birthday._

_"Ilia? What are you doing here?" Link asked, surprised to see his friend here. She looked up at him and smiled warmly, before shaking her head and putting on an exasperated expression. _

_"Well I had just come over to drop off Epona's horse call that you left at my house, AGAIN. I swear Link, whether you're just delivering a letter or helping my dad work, somehow, this thing always seems to wind up on the floor of my house."_

_"Uhh...Whoops?"_

_"But it started raining so heavily outside so quickly I kinda just bunkered down in here. Hope you don't mind." As she said this, she was absentmindedly turning something over and over in her hands, staring intently at it._

_"Well," Link began as he tore a soaked headband off and hung it up on a rack to dry, "As long as you don't set the house on fire, I think I can live." No sooner had he put his headband up, that he noticed the object in Ilia's hand. It was quite small and he couldn't see it clearly, but he did notice a slight red glow coming from her hands. Link sat down next to Ilia to better examine it. "What do you have there?"_

_Ilia, who seemed to be intently examining the piece, snapped her head up to look at Link like she didn't notice he had walked in the room. "Oh, you must see it, Link, I found this in the mud outside your house, it looks just like some kind of shard of metal, but do you see how it glows like that? It's so pretty..."_

_Link frowned, he had never seen anything like it before. It looked like steel, but he had never seen steel that glowed. He briefly considered it being the firelight, but it was not a bright orange and yellow, but rather a dull blood red glow. He looked over it a few seconds before he moved over and took it gently from Ilia's hands._

_The moment his hands touched the metal shard, Link knew something was very wrong here. An inexplicable cold shot through him at that moment, accompanied by a fear of some nameless evil. It produced thoughts of anger and uncontrollable hatred that was not directed at any one thing, but perhaps all living things. the feeling he got from this was frighteningly familiar. It was as if he was once again looking into Ganondorf's evil eyes for the first time. He inhaled sharply as he nearly dropped it after grabbing it, but he had only held it for a split second._

_"Give it back!" Ilia shrieked at the top of her lungs, all but tackling link as she snatched the metal piece away from him. "Don't touch it!_

_"Ilia! What the-!?" Link exclaimed as he tumbled to the the floor. Noticing the anger and rage in her voice, he became very confused. "Ilia! Calm down!" Link pleaded, getting back on his feet. But somehow, Link knew with a dreadful certainty, there was no possibility of that happening.._

_"You want it don't you! It's mine, not yours! I won't let you have it! You won't lay one filthy finger on it! If you want it, you have to take it from my lifeless corpse!" Ilia was shrieking madly at the top of her lungs. Outside, the rain and lightning seemed to intensify tenfold at her burst of anger. Link was taken aback. Ilia, had never once in all of her interaction with Link, spoken like that. It was as if she was an entirely different person. Link opened his mouth, but couldn't find any words to say. Especially not when she looked at him. The whole time of this outburst, her eyes had been to the floor, now they stared directly into Link's blue eyes, which was filled with concern and fear for his friend. Her eyes were completely white, no pretty blue color, no black pupil, just white, and filled with intense hatred and rage._

_"My goddesses Ilia...what has happened to you?" Link muttered numbly. He could hardly believe what had just transpired. Link's mind was completely numb with the shock of what was happening. It was at that moment that Ilia did something Link could never imagine her doing. She attacked him._

_Grabbing the closest thing resembling a weapon, which was Link's wood-carving knife at the wall, she lunged madly at the man who tried to take away her precious shard. Link jumped to the side and let Ilia charge past him, before raising his hands up before him in a pleading manner. "Please! Ilia, listen to me! You're not yourself!" But it was in vain, as Ilia again rushed him, bringing the knife down over her head to strike at Link. Link was, without a doubt, the far superior fighter, but, __after all,__ he didn't want to hurt her. He grabbed her wrist before she could complete the attack, and moved to disarm her of the weapon. What Ilia lacked in any skill she made up for in sheer tenacity. Using her free hand and her legs, she slapped, punched, clawed, kicked, scratched, shoved, and even bit, Link. Link however, was not halted by the furious onslaught, and, placing one foot solidly against her stomach, kicked outward, shoving her away._

_Ilia stumbled backward into a wooden table and fell into it, the furniture collapsing under the sudden impact. But like some enraged wolverine, she got up and again lunged at Link. This time Link grabbed her wrist and pulled her past him, getting Link behind Ilia. Using his free hand he struck her knuckles firmly, sending the knife flying from her hands, but if he thought getting rid of the weapon would stop her, he was wrong. Again, she turned around and ferociously attacked him with her bare hands and feet, kicking and punching and clawing, all the while, screaming like some kind of madwoman._

_"Stop it Ilia, please!" he pleaded, but it was to no avail, as she continued her maddened attack. Seeing no other way to end this, Link used a technique Ashei had taught him on how to incapacitate someone without killing them. He shoved Ilia backwards, knocking her off balance, and while she tried to steady herself, he took his hand and firmly struck Ilia on the side of the neck. With a slight gasp, Ilia fell unconscious, the metal shard she fought with Link over clattered onto the floor. Link caught her before she hit the ground, Then he slowly lowered her to the floor, still keeping her in his arms He paused as he examined the young woman for injury. She had a slight cut from stumbling into the table, but other than that seemed to be in okay condition. _

_Physically, anyways.  
_

_"Ilia, what happened to you? What possessed you to do that?" He spoke to the unconscious young woman as he cradled her in his arms. It was then his eyes fell upon the metal shard that lay on the floor. "Was all this really just for some small metal shard?" He looked back and forth between Ilia and the shard in increasing understanding. He gently laid Ilia's head to rest on the wooden floor and walked over to the metal shard. It was still flaring a blood red glow. Link stared at it intently for a few moments, before grasping it in his hand. The familiar surge of fear and projection of incredible hatred surged through him. He felt a powerful urge to smash his fist into the wall or a table, but he slowly brought it under control. He battled the increasing rage inside him. As the anger that coursed through him was slowly brought under his control, the shard gave off a new feeling._

_The aura of the shard coursed up his arm, and with it, a burning pain, like his arm was being pierced by white-hot knives. Link screamed in surprise and pain, but he didn't drop the piece. The aura coursed up his arm and to his head, where the pain became almost unbearable. But then, suddenly, the pain disappeared, to be replaced by calm and silence, and then, a hushed whisper._

_"Souls...complete...need..."_

_ Link's head snapped up as he whipped his view around his home, but there was no one there. It was then, with a certainty he could not explain, that he knew the shard was speaking to him. Link's eye narrowed as he intently listened to the whispers, growing stronger in fervor._

_"What...do you want?" Link spoke silently to the shard. There was no way to be prepared for what happened next._

_Link's eyelids grew heavy, and he closed them for a second. When he opened them, he was no longer in his house. He was somewhere else. In a land scorched and blackened. The very earth appeared dead. The sky was a blood red and black, and appeared to be on fire at times. Smoke rose from the ground, and every now and then, from the dead earth, flames would shoot up to lick the putrid air. Link covered his nose as everything smelled of ash and...something else. There was virtually nothing in this dead and cursed place. Whispers. Constant whispers filled the air, whispers of pain, of anger, of sorrow and despair..._

_Off in the distance Link could see two warriors battling in this hellish land void of life, and Link, grateful to see some sign of life, rushed towards it. He saw two warriors, wielding weapons so radically different from one another that it would have been akin to light fighting darkness. The one warrior, covered in azure armor, wielded a fearsome blade. Steel, which seemed to have a red, flesh-like substance, and blood, forged into it. Near the hilt, a single, bright, demonic eye gazed upon its opponent. Link could feel a powerful hatred and blood lust emitting from this warrior. His opponent, a young woman, wielding a bright blue and white sword, which the blade was split down the middle battled the fearsome enemy. Her weapon flared upon each collision with the armored fiend's weapon, emitting a soothing pure light._

_The warriors then faded away, to be replaced with the blade wielded by the azure-armored knight jutting out of the ground directly in front of Link. Link went cold looking at this blade. It radiated evil from its very core. Hatred, rage, and an unending thirst for souls filled the area. Link immediately realized he wanted nothing to do with this weapon. Turning away, a dis-embodied voice spoke to him._

_"Give it...give it to me..."_

_The shard Link still held in his hand vibrated harshly as Link continued to step away from the sword. Link turned again, he had no desire to oblige that evil weapon. He cast one look back and saw the eye of the blade open wide, this time, not just a yellow color, but flames occasionally danced out of its pupil._

_"I MUST BE COMPLETE!"_

_The flames shot out of the eye and engulfed Link. He screamed in pain, he had never felt anything like this before! The pain lasted for what seemed an eternity before he faded into a black land of nothingness._

_Link's eyes snapped open as he awoke. "What happened?" He asked himself, gazing around and looking out the window. Then the memories came back to him in a rush. Link looked down at his hand to see the shard. It was no longer flaring an aura, just glowing a very faint red color. Link closed his hand around it, then slipped it into his pocket. It was then that he noticed it was no longer raining outside. The moon was high in the night sky, and the storm clouds had long since dispersed. He wondered how long he had been out, but he knew now was not the time to think about this. He picked Ilia up in his arms and carried her to her father's house. After explaining what happened to Ilia, Link stayed by her side til she awoke._

_But Ilia never woke up. She was alive, but she would not wake up. Link didn't even need to ask what to do. Somehow, deep within his soul, he knew, he needed to break the evil of this shard and the sword it was once a part of. _

_The next day he saddled up Epona and headed for Hyrule Castle to talk to Princess Zelda. If anyone, she would know what happened. She listened solemnly to Link's story, and at the end of it, she nodded solemnly. "Link, I too, have seen a vision. You will leave these lands with the sacred sword in hand, and you will do battle with the coming darkness that will soon pervade the lands of Hyrule. You must take the sword up from it's resting place." She sighed sadly, "I wish such a task did not again have to fall to you, but I feel that you are the only one which can do this."_

_Link sighed, "But how do I find the cursed sword?"_

_Zelda pointed to the small pouch at Link's belt, "That shard you hold was once part of that cursed sword. It will lead you to it."_

_Link, silently nodded and looked at Zelda. Then he turned quietly to leave._

_"Link..."_

_He stopped at hearing his name._

_  
"Be careful. In this journey you may be confronted with your own darkness. You must stand strong against it. If you fall..." She looked at him sadly, "We all fall."_

_Link stared at her in silence, taking in the full extent of her words, then turned and walked out of the room._

_"Good luck Link, the Goddesses favor you."_

* * *

Link snapped out of his past memories. He was here, in the sacred grove. His eyes surveyed this area as he recalled within his trip to the distant past in the Temple of Time, that this used to be a temple, long since weathered away. The only remains of it were the Master Sword, which stood proudly in the middle of the grove, and the pedestal it rested on. Light tumbled down through the canopy overhead to rest on the Blade of Evil's Bane. Taking in the beauty of this sight one last time, he then grasped the Master Sword around the hilt and lifted it free of its resting place. The Master Sword pulsed lightly several times within Link's hand in recognition of its master, then the weapon let loose a faint blue glow which quickly faded away. The Master Sword was again in Link's hands. 

Link was not entirely sure how he knew what to do, but then took his weapon, and struck it back into the pedestal where he first brought forth from, and withdrew it again. The mark of the Triforce in the pedestal resonated, and Link felt the shard of the cursed blade in his belt-pouch resonating as well. Seeing this and know it would lead him to where to find the blade, he brought the shard forth. Grasping it burned his hand in its evil aura, but as he brought it forth, it bathed in the glow of the Master Sword's pedestal. The blood red aura of the shard clashed with the pure blue aura of the sword and the golden light coming from the pedestal. A bright flash of white light, and when Link could see clearly, he gazed at his route to his new adventure.

Where the Master Sword's pedestal once stood, now there was blue rippling field of energy. This was it. Once he stepped through here, his great new adventure would begin. He would face a new world, with new challenges and new enemies. Nonetheless, he would return triumphant. He returned the shard to his belt-pouch, and sheathed the Master Sword. This was going to be his first step into this new place. Link took a deep breath, said a silent goodbye to his homeland, and with a powerful new fire in his eyes, stepped into the portal.

* * *

**_Transcending History and the World, A Tale of Souls and Swords, Eternally Retold._**


	2. Horizons

**Soul Calibur II  
**

** No Sword Forged Stronger  
**

Chapter 2: Horizons

* * *

The experience of stepping through that portal could only be described as 'tingly'. Link opened his eyes, expecting to be dazed or disorientated, but it was little different from walking through your average doorway. Link turned around to check to see if that portal was behind him, but it wasn't. Rather, a beautiful stretch of green landscape which stretched onwards toward a mighty mountain range took its place. Link then took in all of the scenery about him. The sun was dimmed and the sky was gray and thick with heavy clouds. Thick, lush, green, grass, grew everywhere in this field. Link imagined in some areas that grass would be as high as his chest. However, where he stood, it was nothing but a beautiful and serene prairie. The entire setting would have been perfect if it weren't for those thick storm clouds. 

"Looks like it's going to rain. Oh well, better than having wound up in a volcano."

Link then realized that just because he wasn't in any immediate danger didn't mean that he wasn't in quite a predicament. Here he was, stuck in some field, in some world he didn't recognize, when it was about to rain, and he had absolutely no shelter or any idea where to go. Deciding that going north would lead to a mountain range, south seemed to be a more logical option to find a town or some other place to bunk down for the night. With a deep breath of this new world's fresh air, Link made his way to the south.

He couldn't see it from where he first appeared, but not that far to the south was a small, ill-kept dirt road. It wasn't much to go on, but judging from the footprints, the majority of what little traffic was on this road headed east. Link contemplated this new world as he followed the trail. So far, it didn't seem to be any different from his world. The fields, the grass, even the weather, they all seemed to hold to the natural laws of his world. Link wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting, but he was grateful that it wasn't a radically different change like underwater cities, or worse, flying cities inhabited by strange mutant birds.

Link continued along the dirt path for maybe an hour or so, lost in his thoughts about what this new world was like. What were its people like, were they any different from him? What kind of cultures and traditions do they have, what do their towns look like? What did they wear and eat? His mind was afire with questions that he couldn't wait to have answered. Despite this being a very serious mission, Link still had a nearly insatiable curiosity about...well, pretty much everything. It was then another thought popped into Link's mind. Perhaps they also had different methods of fighting here as well. The idea of him having the opportunity to expand his list of skills and perhaps improve on his fighting technique was an exciting thought, but it was overshadowed by the thought of Link getting into a fight with a skilled fighter of this world. He knew too well that there was no possibility of getting through this with words alone. Fights were inevitable. What if he were not properly prepared? Would he be ready to fight against the warriors of this world?

Lost in thought, Link had not even noticed how long he had been walking. The sun's light began to fade from behind the clouds, making them a far more intimidating shade of gray. Off in the distance, thundered rumbles broke the silence, and a light breeze began to pick up along the road, bending the grass and creating small clouds of dust in the air. A wet sensation on the back of Link's neck snapped him back into reality. He glanced around quickly before turning his gaze to those unfriendly clouds, as another drop of water planted itself square on Link's forehead.

"Oh great. That's just wonderful."

Link silently cursed his luck as he began to look around for shelter, at which point he almost hit himself. So lost in thought was Link at the time that he failed to notice the lights of torches and lanterns flickering in the dusk light off in the distance. "A town!" Link exclaimed, "Praise the goddesses!"

From what he could see from here it was a fairly small community, more of a village than a town, and consisted of perhaps 3 or 4 dozen houses, perhaps a marketplace or business center of the town, maybe a central plaza or a gathering place, and a few guard houses, all surrounded by a somewhat run-down, wooden, palisade wall. Judging by the wall and guardhouses, Link imagined this was some small village fairly far away from the protection of larger communities. He guessed he would probably browse the shops at some point. He had packed fairly well, but that didn't settle his curiosity of what kind of goods and supplies they sold here. However, right now, all he was looking for was a place to bed down for the night.

Soon the sprinkling rain turned into a drizzle, which turned into a steady rainfall, which turned into an outright downpour. The heavier the rain got, the quicker Link moved, until at one point he was almost sprinting to the walls. He made good time, but the sun had gone completely down by the time he made it to the wall, and Link still had to find some place to put a roof over his head. Approaching the gates, which was really more of a wooden arch,, because there was no gate per se, Link was stopped by an older man whom Link could only assume was some kind of official or guard. He had formal clothing and a cloak to protect him from the elements. He held a spear in one hand and a lantern in the other. He had a scruffy beard and stern eyes, and examined Link briefly before "Who are you, and what business do you have in Tarmel." He asked sternly.

Assuming Tarmel was the name of the city, Link responded, "I am called Link, I have no business, just looking for a place to stay the night."

The guard nodded, waving him by, "All right, I assume you'll need directions?"

"Yes please." Link responded humbly.

"All right, If you hurry, the Silver Oak Inn is just five minutes away. Go straight down the street, turn left at the fourth sign. It's right on the corner there, you can't miss it."

Link thanked the guard and turned, running in the direction he was told to go, desperate to get out of the rain. As he passed by, the gate captain did an incredulous double take. "I could have just sworn I saw...-Hey, Barten, did you see that?"

"See what?" Asked the spear-wielding guard whom the gate captain spoke to.

"That guy's...nevermind. Must have been my imagination."

Link, finally stood, sopping wet and freezing cold, in front of the Silver Oak Inn. On the sign in front of it, as well as on the sign on the roof, was the picture of a proud oak tree, surrounded by piles of fallen, silver leaves. It was humble, wooden, with a tile roof. There even looked like some kind of stable there for animals to be put in. Link might have looked at it more thoroughly, perhaps wondering if Epona was being properly taken care of, but he was too wet and too cold at the moment to care. All he wanted was to get inside.

The clear ringing of a small bell came to Link's ears as he opened the door, alerting the innkeeper to new customers. This earned him the temporary attention of everyone in the room, which seemed to double as both a lobby and as a dining room. It was filled with beaten-up tables with three or four wooden stools seated around them. A fireplace was situated in the center of the room where the merry flames danced contently on a steadily burning log. Candles were also placed at every table, providing more thorough lighting than just the flames from the fireplace. Link turned to the booth where a candlestick and a guest book lay. There, behind the counter, was a stocky, heavily built, and stern-faced man, examining Link as if appraising some item of value. The wooden planks of the inn's floor creaked lightly as Link walked to the desk. The innkeeper arched one eyebrow, as if amused, as Link approached him.

"Fall in a lake, friend?" He said in reference to Link's sopping wet appearance, folding his hands over a simple brown commoner's tunic.

Link smiled wearily, replying, "I think it would be more accurate to say the lake fell on me.".

A loud bout of laughter came from the heavy-set man, "Haha! Indeed, It's rare to see it come down this hard. But this is the second time this month! Still, it's good for the plants and good for the business. Well then, I don't recognize you. Are you new here?" He asked.

"Yes, I was just passing through town when the storm hit."

"Ah," The innkeeper said, interrupted by the bell again as another man walked in. "Just a minute sir, I'll be right with you." He then turned back to Link, "So, where you hail from?"

Link frowned at that question. He could say Ordon, but naming a place that was not from this world probably was not a good idea. "I'd rather not say if it's all the same to you."

"Very well then, if that is what you prefer. Now let's see, if I know you traveler types, you're going to want basic accommodations?"

"Yes sir."

"All right then. I'll need your name." The innkeeper said, fetching out a piece of parchment and some kind of writing device Link had never seen before. Link briefly considered asking what it is, but figured he would probably just make a fool out of himself, and he was not in the mood to attract attention, so he just answered the question instead.

"Link."

The innkeeper made a face that suggested that the name was unusual as he wrote it down on the paper. "All right Link, the rules of the inn are common sense. You keep that sword in its scabbard, don't go starting any trouble, and I think you'll be set to go."

"Yes sir, I understand." Link said politely with a quick incline of his head.

"All right, now that...that will..." the innkeeper trailed off, staring at Link incredulously.

"Is...there something wrong?" Link asked, noting the innkeeper's stare.

"Ah! No sir, nothing at all, I was just...erm, just...admiring your earing." The innkeeper stuttered, afraid he had offended one of his customers. "Ah, anyways, that'll be four silvers."

Link just about had a heart attack. The thought of paying four silver rupees, that was equivalent to 800 rupees! For a second he was reminded of a certain 'Premium' store with a clerk that had a neck that seemed highly appealing to wring. Link however, calmed down as he glanced around at the people grouped in this inn, and realized none of them were wealthy enough to afford such an insane price. They must use a different form of currency in this new world. "Uh-oh, what do I do now..." Link said quietly under his breath. He figured he'd produce an equivalent amount, or what he hoped was an equivalent amount, of rupees and hope for the best. Counting out four green rupees from his wallet, Link set them on the desk.

Now it was the clerk's turn to have a heart attack. He staggered and made some kind of incredible gurgling sound for a second before regaining his composure. "S-sir! I...that is most generous, but...well, I can't accept this!"

Link frowned, cursing his luck. "Why not?" He asked in vain.

"There is-!" the innkeep began before realizing that he had risen his voice and had the attention of almost everyone in the room. He then leaned toward Link and whispered, "This is quite generous of you, but there is no way we could exchange this for the proper amount of money! It's...well, it's quite a lot, but I can't use it, even though I badly want to take those off your hands."

It was at that point that Link realized two things. First off, he found out that his rupees, while not money, were considered extremely valuable here, like priceless jewels. He also learned, that you can, in fact, pay too much money for a person to accept. If they were as valuable as the man was making them out to be, they'd be useless to him. It's not money, but in a small town like this you couldn't sell it to anyone because no one here would have enough money to buy it! Link cursed his luck. What now? It was at that point that Link realized that the man who had walked through the door of the inn was now looking over his shoulder. Link turned around to look at the person, "Umm, can I help you?" He asked warily. He knew too well what greed can do to people.

The man offered a warm smile, which eased Link's tension slightly. He was roughly Link's size and height, but Link couldn't make out a lot of his features, due to the hood of his night blue travel cloak. The expression in his blue eyes suggested he was both amused and curious.. Link could make out a midnight blue tunic, slightly open near the top of the chest, which showed what appeared to be a sleeveless chainmail vest. In addition to that, he appeared to have a pair of light metal shoulder guards. His tunic had short sleeves, but his arms were covered by a black undershirt, with a pair of protective, steel bracers covering his wrist and some of his forearm. But the thing that stood out the most was the hilt of the sword which was strapped to his leather belt. '_'This must be a warrior of this world.' _Link thought to himself as he examined the man.

"Now then," the man began to reply, "I don't claim to be an expert, but I'm going to take a wild stab and say you're not from around here, are you?"

"Uh, no, I come from a land far to the west." Link said. Well he couldn't just up and say he was from another world.

"I see," he said, arching an eyebrow in suspicion, but not openly challenging what Link had said. He then sighed, "Give the man his key, I'll cover the cost of his room."

Link was surprised, but thankful. He would normally have refused such generosity, but he had no manner in which to pay, and sleeping out in the rain REALLY didn't interest him. _'Oh praise Nayru! I guess the goddesses really are looking out for me.' _ The innkeeper looked surprised, but he didn't comment. "All right then sir, four silvers." he said, but the kind stranger had already counted out the money and placed it on the counter. The innkeeper handed the key to Link, who quickly thanked the man who had given him a hand and turned to head upstairs to his room. However, his sharp ears could still pick up the conversation behind him with the innkeeper and the stranger.

"Well, I'm sorry, if you don't have enough money for a second room, I can't rent one out to you. I have a business to run, after all."

"All right, how much for a spot on the floor by the fire? Surely that can't cost much."

"I...ah..."

Link had heard enough, this man showed him kindness, to a random stranger no less, now it was Link's turn to repay the favor. With a creaking of the stairs underneath his boots, Link turned around before he had even gone halfway up and headed back to the counter. There he saw the innkeeper and the warrior haggling back and forth to try and find accommodations for him, when Link spoke up. "Hey." he spoke, motioning to the man who payed for his stay. "If you would like, you can share my room. It's only fair, seeing as you payed for it."

The man looked for a second as if he might refuse, but a quick look at the innkeeper and a quick consideration of his current options must have changed his mind, as he nodded slowly. "All right, I accept. That is, if it is okay with the master?" It was almost more a question, as he looked at the head of the establishment.

The innkeeper frowned in thought, then nodded, "Very well. You two can share a room. Just stay down here a minute to give me your information, that young man can head up to his room right now."

The warrior nodded to Link, "Thank you."

Link only inclined his head, then turned around and headed up to his room. He kind of wanted a bit of time alone to think, but he'd get plenty of that on his journey, he could put up with someone else for one night. Especially when that someone else was paying for his room. "Room 104...104...there it is." Link muttered to himself as he inserted the key into the door and turned the knob.

The room wasn't impressive, but it was well kept and neat. The hardwood floor was swept and cleaned. A single bed rested in one corner, with a clean, though somewhat tattered, blanket and pillow on it. There was also a dresser, closet, and nightstand, but all in all, the room was very plain and ordinary. However, it was more than adequate to Link's needs, which was basically a place to get out of that heavy rain. Link actually enjoyed rain, but only when he also had the option of getting out of it. Rain falling while your in the middle of the road with no shelter is not a pleasant experience.

Link could feel his eyes beginning to grow heavy. It seemed like he'd only been in this world for a few minutes, but all the ordeals leading up to now left him strangely tired. Satisfying his curiosity of this place would have to wait until the morning. Link removed his green cap and hung it up on the rack. He then removed his leather gloves and set them in the top drawer of the dresser. Link was considering whether or not to take off his chainmail and his green outer tunic before he went to bed when he was disturbed by a voice.

"You can have the bed, I'll sleep on the floor." Link whipped around, just to come face to face with the warrior who was going to be his roommate.

"Oh, thanks." Link commented, trying to figure out why he hadn't heard this guy before he walked in. But he shrugged it off as he removed the Master Sword's scabbard from his back, laying his sword against the wall, then his hylian shield on top of that. He also took the Hero's Bow he had and his quiver which he had managed to find room to carry as well. He wished he could have brought more of his equipment with him, but in the past, Midna did him a favor and held on to all of his items that he couldn't carry by storing them in some kind of dimensional pocket, supposedly some area of the Twilight Realm. But, since she wasn't with him this time, he could only bring his sword, shield, bow, quiver, and a bag of some supplies, plus whatever he could hold in the pockets of his tunic or store in his belt pouches. All in all, it was meager compared to what he used to be able to bring along. Here was where he, once again, wished he had Epona with him now. At least then he could carry more equipment more easily.

"So, Link, was it?" the man asked, breaking Link out of his line of thought.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"The form the innkeeper filled out, it was still lying on the desk."

Link nodded, "I see, well then, what is your name?" he said, removing his boots.

The man removed his hooded, rain-drenched cloak and began to work with his tunic as he answered, "I'm Daren. Pleased to meet you." He removed his outer tunic ,chainmail vest, shoulder guards, and bracers, leaving him wearing his black pants and undershirt. Then he set all the removed items in a drawer in the dresser, before he removed his sword from his belt and leaned it against the wall.

"You don't like sleeping in your armor?" Link asked, as he moved to get into the bed.

The man sat down in a resting position in the corner, saying, "Yeah. It's not a lot of armor by any stretch, but it certainly is a lot more comfortable with it off nonetheless." He sighed wearily then, "What about you? I can see the chainmail underneath your tunic. You sleep with that on?"

Link shrugged, "To tell the truth, I hardly notice it. I guess while I travel, I never really got the option to remove it, so I just got accustomed to sleeping in it."

"Mm, lucky." Daren said, his eyes barely open. "Well Link, I'd love to talk some more, but as it is, I'm about to pass out here. Good night."

"Good night." Link said. With that, Daren was out like a light. Link however, couldn't sleep. At least, not right away. As he lay beneath the blanket his thoughts kept turning to that metal shard in his travel bag on the floor next to him. In it lay that cursed shard which was responsible for this mission in the first place. Link lay in bed for about ten minutes, before he decided to examine that shard more closely. Reaching for his travel bag, Link pulled back from the strap. There it was again, the same evil aura he first felt when he had first grasped the shard. Only this time, he didn't even have to touch the shard to feel it. He hesitated for a second, then reached down and opened the bag. The evil red glow from that shard came back. Its light flowed out of the bag and disturbed the dark room. Link noticed Daren stir a bit, but he didn't awake. Link was relieved, as he'd rather not have to explain this.

Link reached for the shard, but pulled back as he realized that, as he got closer to the aura, his hand began to hurt, as if being burned. Link withdrew his hand for a second, then steeled himself and seized the piece of metal. Instantly, his arm felt like it was on fire, that pain was back, and this time, it seemed more hostile then when it first spoke to him. This time it seemed more like an attack, as if attempting to force Link to its will. Link bit down a harsh cry of pain that was threatening to come out, and closed his eyes, trying to make himself drop the piece. But his arm would not respond, Link couldn't let go of the shard.

The pain began to get such that Link was starting to get dizzy, and his vision blurred for a second. The red aura emitted by the shard surged up Link's arm, again, making its way toward Link's mind. Then the aura finally reached Link's mind and, after a while, the pain began to fade, until it was no longer painful to grasp the steel of the shard. Link was nonetheless left dizzy and gasping for breath. When his vision cleared, Link realized he was not at the inn. No, in fact, Link was not only not at the inn, but he was in a place he recognized as well.

"What the...am I...home? But how?"

Link was standing in the middle of Ordon Village. There was Rusl, down practicing by the river with his son Colin, who had recently taken up an interest in swordsmanship, probably inspired by Link. Uli, quite pregnant yet again, sat a few yards from the river, mending an old cradle while watching over the both of them. There, near the lake, Serra was fixing the window to her shop. Beth, Malo, and Talo were all running around playing, the sight was one the brought ease and joy to Link's heart. But that feeling was short-lived indeed. Slowly the sounds of life in the village began to fade away. Birds stopped singing, the children stopped playing, and everyone froze, as if petrified in terror.

The gazes of everyone in the village turned toward the entrance, filled with fear. Link followed their looks to the entrance of town. There, he could see what remained of his home. It was splintered and completely destroyed, the remaining rubble engulfed in malevolent red flames. Epona lay in front of his home, slaughtered like some lame farm animal, her blood coating the ground in front of Link's burning home. There, standing over the massacred horse, stood a towering figure, clad in azure armor. Its red hair waved lightly in the wind. It was not human, its right arm, brown-colored and disfigured, far larger and more powerful than a human arm, was a testament to that. It's right hand, instead of five human fingers, were three horrible, demonic, disfigured, claws. It slowly turned from the destruction behind it and started towards the rest of the village. Link was the first one he came too. Link's eyes locked with the demonic figure's glowing red eyes. He couldn't ever remember feeling such intense hatred from one figure before, even Ganondorf couldn't emanate such inhuman hatred like this. Link felt a rush of fear wash over him, his stomach twisting into a knot. Link remembered the glare from those red eyes, and then his world went black...

Link awoke in the same place where he had passed out. But something was wrong. As he rose unsteadily, Link almost threw up. Ordon was no more. The air smelled thick of blood and ash. Some houses were utterly destroyed, while others were on fire. The bodies of several villagers lay strewn, broken, mangled, bloody, and lifeless, all over the village. Ilia was just a few feet away from him, her body twisted and crushed like someone had tried to break her in half. Not much farther away, Rusl lay lifeless and covered in blood next to his murdered wife. Link couldn't believe his eyes. He felt tears roll down his eyes as he looked upon the desecrated bodies of the people he loved. How...how could someone cause this massacre?

"Do you see now?" an evil and monstrous voice spoke up. Link's eyes rose, filled with anger, toward the figure. In its demonic hand it held the mangled and disfigured body of Colin, a boy who looked up to Link like he was his hero. Then a voice rose again, but it wasn't that of the armor-clad figure. Link recognized this voice. It was the sword the knight held. He knew it. The same one from his previous vision. "THIS IS WHAT WILL COME TO PASS! IF YOU CONTINUE TO DEFY THE WILL OF SOUL EDGE!"

Link glared through his tears. He had no weapon here, but he charged the figure nonetheless. He couldn't see reason through his pain-born anger. He ran fiercely at the knight. The murderer would pay for this! But the demonic knight just held Soul Edge forth. The yellow eye opened and stared into Link, who stopped in his tracks, feeling his entire body seizing up. Then, flames licked around the eyelid, before surging forth and engulfing Link in a maelstrom of fire. The ordonian cringed and raised his hands to guard against the heat. Link felt the flames engulf his body, and he screamed. A scream of pain like he had never felt before. Then he again, slipped into the blissful embrace of unconsciousness.

"Link...wa-...-p...Link...-ink...-ake up...Link, wake up!"

Link remembered hearing something, someone speaking. Someone calling his name. Then a rush of memories flooded through Link. Ordon, the destruction, the massacre, the demon. Everything. Link's eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, reaching for his sword which wasn't there, until he realized where he was. He was back at the inn. Link's eyes scanned the area quickly, before he realized someone was standing over him. "Who...Daren?"

The figure standing over Link nodded, "Yeah, it's me. I was just about to grab a doctor or something, you fell out of bed and started thrashing and screaming. You've been like that for almost four minutes. Are you okay?"

Link placed one palm to his forehead and massaged his temples gently. His head felt like it was about to split, and his entire body ached like he had just worked it to its limit. But he didn't feel like there was any permanent damage. "Yeah, I think I'm okay."

"All right. Well...if you need anything, I'll be right here. It's still the middle of the night." Daren said, rising off the floor. He cast a worried glance back at Link, but sank down against the wall all the same. Link then realized he was no longer holding that cursed shard. _'Soul Edge, so that is the name of the sword that fragment belongs to." _ Link frantically looked around for the piece, but he couldn't find it. Just as the fear that Daren might have taken it crept into his mind, he found that glow, the shard was still on his bed. Only this time the aura was weaker. It was emanating a barely visible light. Link hesitated, then grabbed it. He felt a vibrating sensation in his hand, and a feeling of heat, but nothing else happened.

Link frowned, why did the shard at times attack him, at times show him visions, and at other time just lie dormant? It made no sense. But Link could do nothing about it. He made sure Daren wasn't looking, then slipped the shard of metal back into his travel bag. Then he wearily climbed into bed. He would not be touching that cursed shard again tonight. He needed what little rest he could get before morning. Link had the faint feeling that he had forgotten something, but it passed as Link collapsed in his bed. He was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

* * *

Link awoke the next morning to the sunlight on his face. The white rays of daylight streamed through the window, warming his skin. He sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes and realized just how sore and groggy he was , like he hadn't really slept at all. The events of the night had been far from restful though. Link sighed and rose out of his bed, hoping that he would feel better after he had moved around a bit. Glancing around the room, he noticed the drawers had been disturbed and Daren was no longer here. Link assumed he must have already awoken. He hoped he hadn't left yet, there were a few things he had wanted to ask the warrior. 

Link quickly put put his cap, boots, and gloves on before grabbing the things he had leaned up against the wall. Link strapped his sword scabbard back in place and hung his shield on his back. Then Link grabbed his travel bag and headed downstairs.

It must have been early morning, as the only people downstairs were Link, Daren, and the innkeeper. Daren sat at a table with two plates of food, one of which was already half-way empty. Daren looked up and motioned Link over to the table. Link quickly obliged, having many questions for him.

"Well, you're awake. There's your breakfast. It's not much, but it came free with the room, so..."

"Ah, thank you." Link said, looking at his plate. He recognized the bacon and sausage on the plate, but what he didn't recognize was the yellow lump on his plate, or the brown liquid in the mug on the table. Link knew very well he might look stupid, but he was the kind of person who wanted to know what he was eating.

"Umm, I don't mean to be rude, but what is this stuff?" he asked, poking at the yellow food-like substance on his plate. It didn't look too appetizing, although he would admit, it smelled delectable. Daren raised an eyebrow and stared at Link for a minute, then shook his head in disbelief.

"Are you telling me you honestly don't know what scrambled eggs are?"

"They're eggs!?!" Link asked incredulously, looking at the somewhat alien-looking eggs. They don't look anything like eggs!"

"Oh really," Daren asked, the corner of his mouth twitching in an amused smile, an action which quickly irritated Link. "well then, what do the eggs you eat look like?"

"They are white! You break the eggs out of the shell and cook them on the pan. The egg is white with a yellow yolk inside!"

Daren stifled his laugh best he could, obviously quite amused with Link. "You really ARE new, aren't you? You must be used to eating over-easy eggs. Scrambled eggs are the same eggs, just cooked in a different style."

"They look disgusting..."

Daren sighed in exasperation, then thrust a fork into Link's hand. "Just take a freaking bite. They're delicious. I have not, to this day, met one person who hates scrambled eggs." Link frowned, looking back and forth from the eggs to Daren, then relented. Taking his fork, he thrust it into the yellow substance, brought it before his mouth, muttered a silent prayer, and took a bite.

"Well?" Daren asked as Link mulled the food over in his mouth.

Link swallowed, feeling the somewhat slimy, but not undesirable, texture of the eggs as they passed through his mouth. "It's...great. But it tastes like it's missing something for some reason." Link had hardly finished his sentence before Daren thrust a small object into his hands. It was a small glass bottle, with a silverish lid. The lid had several holes in it, and the bottle was filled with a whitish powder. Before Link could open his mouth to ask, Daren answered the unspoken question.

"And if you're wondering what that is, it's called salt. It's a spice, don't use too much."

Link sighed. He knew what salt was, he just had never seen it held in a glass bottle. However, he'd let Daren have his fun. Sprinkling a bit on his eggs, Link took another bite.

"Ah, you're right. That's perfect." Link said approvingly.

"Any other questions?" Daren asked, still bearing that irritating amused smile, before he took a bite of his sausage, finishing his food.

"Yeah...what's this brown liquid in my cup?"

"Ah," Daren began, leaning backwards while taking a sip of his water. Then he continued, "That's called coffee. It's made out of coffee beans. It's a drink people usually take in the morning. It helps you wake up, I think there's some kind of stimulant in it. I got it for you because I thought you'd need it. You were out like a light last night."

"Okay," Link picked up his cup filled with the liquid. "Why don't you have any?"

Daren sipped his water again, "Two reasons. One is because it's addictive. If you drink a lot of coffee, you get headaches and things. And don't worry, you have to drink a LOT of coffee to get addicted to it." Daren threw in that last part after he saw Link's worried look. "Second reason is because I hate coffee." Daren sipped his water again.

Link frowned, then raised his cup to his lips. The smell of the coffee was irresistible. Then Link, taking a chance with this new food, took in a huge gulp of this, 'coffee'." A move he quickly regretted. He spat the drink out on the floor and gave a quick, sharp, scream.

"Oh yeah..." Daren said, before taking another sip of his water and watching the surprised look Link was wearing, "I forgot to tell you. Coffee is hot."

Link wiped his pained mouth, before seizing the water Daren offered him and gulped down the water. After Link finished the cool water, he glared at Daren, muttering, "Well that would have been nice to know..." However, Link picked himself up off the floor and sat down again, working at the rest of his food while Daren ordered another water. Halfway through his second piece of sausage, Link remembered that he still had some questions for Daren. As the innkeeper set down Daren's water and began to clean up the coffee spill, Link tentatively asked,

"Hey...Daren. Do you know anything...about a sword called Soul Edge?"

Daren stopped drinking his water for a second and frowned as he look at Link. "Sure. Everyone's heard of it. I guess I know as much as most. Less than some."

"What is it?"

Daren gulped down another mouthful of water before setting his glass on the table. "Well, the tale is that it's a sword of heroes. It's the most powerful weapon around, and it brings wealth, fame, power, and long life to whomever wields it. It supposedly can grant the wielder's wishes."

Link was shocked. This was not the blade of his visions. That blade was a cursed weapon that had twisted its wielder into something that was not human. A bloodthirsty blade hungry for souls. Not some hero's sword. "Are you...sure?" Link asked, wondering how anyone could possibly believe that weapon was any such thing. Perhaps Soul Edge could corrupt just with its mere presence.

"I'm certain that is how the story goes." Daren said, grabbing his cup again.

"You evaded the question." Link said pointedly, his tone no-nonsense and his face very serious.

Daren sighed, "All right, I'll spill. Listen, I used to believe this story myself. But now...I'm not so sure. See, I have heard rumors recently."

"What kind of rumors?"

Daren shook his head, "Not quite rumors. More, advice. Very rarely, when I mention it, someone tells me to leave the sword alone. That it is not what the stories make them out to be. The first time I assumed it was someone who wanted Soul Edge for themselves, but...well, I started thinking on it. Soul Edge's current wielder is supposedly some kind of monster."

"Do you know what it's called?"

"No," Daren muttered, looking distant, "I don't. I've investigated a little bit here and there, but I was only able to turn up that he was a monster, sometimes referred to as 'The Azure Knight'."

"Did you learn anything else?"

Daren frowned, "No, I really have not. See, everyone who tells to stay out of it is really, and I mean REALLY, uptight about information. It's like they want to say something but are afraid or cautious of...something."

Link nodded. "All right. Thank you. Umm, do you know of anywhere where I could get any information? And I don't mean hearsay, something solid."

Daren frowned in thought, taking a drink of his water, rubbing thoughtfully on his chin. "I can think of two places." Daren said. "See, I once looked for Soul Edge myself. I'd given up on it after I began to wonder about how much of the legend was really true. But during the time, I found what may have been a possible lead. The first place is in a city called Athens, in Greece."

Link's hopes instantly went higher. A few possible leads. "What's there in Athens?"

"Well," Daren began, "I spoke to an old man there. He's 92 years old, and he's also insane."

Link shook his head in disbelief. "Why would you consider a crazy old man a credible source of information?"

"Because," Daren looked at Link, "Some people have said he once wielded Soul Edge." Daren concluded.

"All right, what's the other clue?"

"Well, there is something to be said about being in a position of power. The Ming empire has been known to be conducting searches for the weapon. With the resources at their disposal, it's likely that they turned something up."

Link took all this in and began to think. "Which one is closer?"

"Athens," Daren said, reaching into a pack that he had placed on the ground next to his chair. "Here, I'll get you a map." Daren took a piece of parchment out of his pack and laid it out on the table. He unfolded the old map and took out another of those strange writing utensils and began to mark on the map. "If you take this road northwest for a day, you should wind up in the Tarsen Port. I'm sending you here because it's the kind of port that you'll find traders at, people who will be more than happy to give you a ride for one of those jewels you have."

Link absentmindedly touched his wallet. Just one rupee for passage on a ship? These things must truly be valuable to the people of this world. To think that the currency could be so radically different, these things were fairly common in his world. Well, he certainly wasn't going to complain. "How long will the journey at sea take?" He asked.

"Somewhere between a week to two weeks, it depends on the vessel and the weather conditions. If you make good time, you could be on land in a week."

"And this ship will take me right to Athens?

"No, Athens is land-locked. It will put you close to Greece though. Make sure that whatever ship you take is headed to Alcia port. It's also a big town, if you want to exchange some of those jewels for our currency, this would be the place to do it. Anyways, you could probably find some kind of caravan or traveling group you could hitch a ride with. It's a three day journey from Alcia to Athens."

After Daren finished marking on the map, he rolled it up and put it in a case, before handing it to Link. "I've marked your route, destination, the names of the ports, and if you decide not to take a caravan and decide to stop and rest on the way to Athens, I've marked a few trading posts and small towns between Alcia and Athens."

Link inclined his head in thanks, and graciously accepted the map. "Thank you," he said, rising from his chair. He could not believe that he had been so lucky as to find someone so willing to give him a hand. Link looked around the room and at the sun streaming in through the window. It was early morning, so he was going to have to leave soon. He double-checked everything to make sure that all of his belongings were with him, then he quickly checked out at the desk and left the inn.

Link took the opportunity that morning to look around the various shops before he left. There wasn't much, a place to buy food, most of which Link recognized, simple meats and vegetables that Link had eaten on various occasions. The apothecary served medicines far different from Link's world though. Powders and salves and many other things Link didn't have in his world. He briefly considered buying some things for the trip, before realizing, that he didn't have any real money to pay with, and besides, he still had a red potion, a blue potion, and if the situation was REALLY bad, Fairy Queen Tears.

The local blacksmith had a number of weapons on hand that differed from those of Link's world as well. Most Hyrule weapons were built plain, simple, and practical. Here, even simple weapons seemed to have their own unique methods of being made. The arrows sold here, for example, looked almost like a pointed fishing hook. They were thin, and Link realized why they were designed that way. When they went in, it caused even more damage if someone tried to pull it out. The swords were usually designed with slight hooks or jagged edges or curves in the blade, as a matter of fact, a simple straight longsword seemed ridiculously rare.

Link continued looking around the various stands and vendors until his curiosity was satisfied, well, relatively satisfied. There were far larger cities out there with a far wider array of goods to be seen. But, it was no longer early morning, and with reluctance, Link knew it was time to leave this place. His body was still stiff and sore, but it bugged him less as he walked. He made his way to the north gate, where he noticed two figures. The one was apparently the northern gate guard, who gave Link a casual "Fare you well" salute as Link passed him. The other was far more familiar.

"Daren? What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you, actually. I figured since we were going the same way, I might as well come with you, for a little bit at least."

Link blinked, "You're going to Athens as well?"

Daren shook his head, "No, actually, I'm going west, toward India I think. There were some things that I wanted to check out around there. See, your interest in Soul Edge has somehow revived my interest in it as well."

Link frowned, "You still want the sword?"

Daren again, shook his head. "No, I don't want the sword. It is my opinion that warrior's strength does not depend on his weapon. A weapon, even Soul Edge, is just an extension of the arm. No, but rather, I want to know the truth behind the sword. I want to know what it really is."

Link was relieved. He was afraid that even this kind man would be desiring the cursed blade, no doubt falling prey to its evil. He was glad he didn't. "Well, if you want to accompany me for a ways, I have no issue with it at all."

"Well all right then," Daren said, picking up his pack from the ground, "What are we waiting for?"

* * *

It seemed to go by all too fast. As Link and Daren walked, they talked a lot. The conversation ranged from all manners of things. Food, games, weapons, animals, nature, war, tools, cities, if you named it, they talked about it. Link's curiosity was endless, and the two hour walk seemed like two minutes. He enjoyed this man's company, he was down-to-earth and good-hearted, and reminded him of a few people he knew back in his own world. But the time came at a fork in the road. 

"Well Link, this is where we part ways."

Link didn't really say anything, just nodding slowly.

"Just follow that map I marked for you, "Daren said, "and you should do all right." Daren took a look around at the clear sky, not a trace of the rain clouds from yesterday. The sun shone brightly down on the open plains, and a cool breeze swept across the field. "Looks like good weather today. You should make good time." Daren sighed, turning around. "Well, until next time. You take care of yourself."

Link smiled, "Yes. I won't forget the help you gave me. Take care."

Then the two swordsmen parted ways. One heading east, one heading west. Link remembered thinking that, given the chance to get to know each other, they probably could have been good friends. But fate was not as such, and Link had other things to focus on. This task ahead of him. Link adjusted the sword on his back to a more comfortable position. The cool breeze felt good on his sun-warmed skin. The green plains stretched as far as Link could see, with a barely-visible blue line on the horizon, which must be the sea he would be taking a ship from. Everything was so bright and hopeful. It was as if this day was challenging Link to step forward into this new world and conquer the task ahead of him.

And so, with the wind at his back and clear skies ahead, The Hylian warrior pressed onward toward the beckoning horizon.


	3. Silent Seas

Author's Notes

No, neither me, nor this story, is dead. I'm sorry it took so long for this update! My birthday recently came and went, so between Xenosaga 2, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, and the computer crashing every seventeen seconds, I have not had a lot of time for this. Please forgive me loyal readers! Also, if you are reading this, I went back through the other two chapters, corrected some typos, edited a few details, and in general, just made it better. Well anyways, you've been waiting this long, so I'll just shut up and let you get on with the story! Enjoy the chapter!

End Author Notes

**Soul Calibur II  
**

**No Sword Forged Stronger**

Chapter 3: Silent Seas

* * *

It was an interesting past few days for Gladr Kell, that was for sure. To think last night that there was a man wanting to pay him forty times what his room was worth in jewels! The heavy-set man shook his head at that as he wiped down the tables for the night. Most of his patrons, what few there were, had retired for the night. The Silver Oak Inn had become unusually popular with the traveling types lately, most of them armed. First it was that young woman from the east. She was but a child, not possibly a day over seventeen! She was dressed strangely, almost ritualistically, and had the tendency to stand out on the observation deck in some kind of trance. Then, only a week and a half later, that 'Link' fellow and Daren, who Gladr had seen pass through here once or twice. 

So as he prepared to retire early tonight, he was not quite so caught off guard by the cloaked figured that entered the inn. The patron wore a plain dusty-brown cloak with a hood that covered most of the facial features. But he had run an inn for twenty-four years, and if any man existed on the planet that could identify a cloaked person, it was Gladr Kell. This figure was obviously a woman. Despite the large cloak, the build suggested it was either a woman or a very slender man. But they didn't walk like a man, or hold themselves like one.

"Can I help you miss?" Gladr asked as the concealed woman walked around, as if she was following something.

"We'll see in a minute, please excuse me."

Gladr shrugged, that pretty voice had confirmed his suspicions. His visitor was certainly female. His inn was open to everyone, even though you had to pay for a room. As she walked upstairs he made a mental note to check on her in a few minutes in case she intended to break into one of the rooms without paying.

She moved dexterously, making virtually no noise as she walked up the steps of the creaky old inn. Gladr shook his head, "What is with all these mysterious types coming to my inn lately? Should I be running for cover?" He chuckled, "Next thing you know, the grim reaper is going to want a room." With that, he set the last stool up and went behind the counter to make some notes and finish with some of the paperwork. "A very interesting past few weeks..."

* * *

_'Here, it's right here, in this _room,' she said mentally to herself, her almond-colored eyes boring into the door in front of her. It was locked of course, but the lock was so easy to pick, she would have found opening a canteen of water more difficult. Within two seconds the knob gave a satisfying 'Click', as the lock released. A slender hand turned the brass doorknob and her lithe form stepped inside as the door swung silently open. It was here, she didn't even need her focus to feel it, there was an almost palpable feeling of evil in this room. The presence of one of those cursed shards was here, at some point, in this room. A slender object at the small of her back vibrated slowly, resonating with the lingering aura in the room. She followed the feeling of evil to where it felt strongest. The bed...no, on the floor, right next to the bed. She reached down to examine the place carefully and brushed her hand in the dust on the floor, feeling the lingering effects of the aura strongest right here. 

She rose slowly, taking some time to mutter a small chant under her breath. As she chanted, the lingering evil faded slowly away. The room soon lost the nearly tangible malevolent presence that had lingered over the place where the shard had rested. With the task of cleansing the room done, she opened the door, locked it to cover her tracks, and proceeded back downstairs.

The man whom she had seen cleaning the lobby, apparently the keeper of this inn, was standing behind the reception booth, filing a number of forms. She strode slowly to him and he looked up at her approach. He quickly finished the form he was working with and then politely folded both his hands on the counter and gave her his full attention. "Can I help you miss?" He asked her.

Her mouth twitched in an almost amused smile as he asked that. She had taken so many pains to disguise her identity, and some random innkeeper, right out of the blue could already tell she was female. Yet, at the same time, she had to hold a certain amount of respect for the strange abilities that you find among the common man. However, she had a more important task at hand than admiring passing skills.

"I need to know the last person who stayed in room 104." She said in a level voice.

The innkeeper frowned. "Uh, miss, I'm sorry, but my customers have a right to their privacy. I can't just up and tell you everything about my guests."

The woman said nothing, she merely reached for her hip, then withdrew a gold coin and set it on the counter. The innkeeper's eyes widened, that was enough to pay for four rooms! He took the coin and pocketed it, "All right, apparently you want to know badly. Two people stayed in the room. Swordsmen, the both of them, I believe."

"What were their names?"

"One was named Daren, the other was a young man by the name of Link."

"Link?" She repeated confused. She'd never even heard of that name before. As a matter of fact, it hardly even sounded like a name.

"Aye, that was my first reaction as well, but well, I don't question a paying customer because their name sounds funny."

She nodded, the hood of her cloak moving slowly in tandem with the action. "Describe them."

The innkeeper rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he tried to remember. "Well, let's see, Daren had black hair and blue eyes, he's in good shape, and probably just a few inches taller than you. I've seen him once or twice. He's a warrior, though he wears little armor, just some braces and guards and I think a chainmail vest. He carries his sword at his hip, kind of a plain thing, but I guess it doesn't need to be pretty to kill someone with. Just a black and silver hilt with your standard crossguard, nothing particularly astounding about it." The innkeeper paused, scratching his scruffy beard before continuing, "The other one, Link, had a kind of dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and was roughly the same height and build as Daren. He wore green, a lot of green, with a white undershirt.. I could see chainmail barely underneath his green tunic. He also had a golden earing on his left ear, but not one on his right ear. He wore his sword strapped across his back, and his shield on top of that."

"Did either one of them stand out in particular?"

"Oh without a doubt, it was that Link fellow. He seemed completely new to this place. He even tried to pay me with gems!" the innkeeper said in the same disbelief that he had last night. "But the thing that stood out the most were his ears. See, they were long and pointed, like...I don't know, like his face had been deformed maybe?" It was almost more of a question than an answer.

She needed nothing more. If his face and ears were deformed, then she knew instantly he would be the figure with the evil shard that she had been following ever since she felt its presence appear close by, almost out of nowhere. "When were they here?"

"Ah, just last night. They left this morning. I overheard their conversation, something about Tarsen Port to the Northwest."

The woman nodded. "That'll be all." The man opened his mouth as if to speak, but she paid him no heed and walked right out the door.

_'It's already sundown, they'll be at the port now if they left this morning. If they stay the night I can catch them in the morning.' _The woman mulled her thoughts over in her head. If they left tonight, she might have to worry. _'However, if they left tonight, as soon as they got to the port, I'll be hard pressed to catch up to them.'_ The woman nodded slowly as she walked down the dark road out the northwest gate. A quick conversation with the gate guard, and she was on her way. She would find them...

* * *

Gladr remembered staring into the firelight, tumbling that gold coin over and over in his fingers. He couldn't understand why he had felt so guilty, he didn't know the man he spoke about at all. However, he didn't know that woman's intentions either. For all he knew, she could have been some kind of assassin. He had been so willing to speak all too quickly when the gold had hit the counter. He realized that the strange manner and features of the foreign man scared him. Would he have been so quick to talk about anyone else? Was it because he was different, that he was ready to speak at the drop of a hat, or a coin, as it were? He had broken a policy of customer privacy that he had held for twenty-four years, sold out a foreign stranger to a mysterious woman with unknown intentions, all for a single gold piece. He was an innkeeper, trusted by his customers to provide and watch over them while they slept, not some rumor-spreading barkeep. 

An hour before the innkeeper went to bed, he gave that piece to Klaren the beggar. He wanted nothing more to do with that coin, he was too disgusted with himself to worry about the amount he had just thrown away. Quite frankly, what little honor he had left to salvage was worth far more than that gold coin.

* * *

Link watched as the sun began to creep behind the horizon, the sunset setting the sky afire with brilliant hues of red and gold. The cold that came with the setting sun began to creep in, and Link began to wonder what season it was in this world. It was summer in his world right now. At least, that's what he'd like to believe. 

Link was still amazed at how similar the two worlds were. They both had one sun, which rose in the east and set in the west, with a sunset that painted the sky beautiful bright colors. The sky was blue, the grass was green. Even the people were like those of his world, not just physically, but socially as well. They exchanged money, carried on social lives, And rode mounts, as attested to by the man who had passed Link not long ago on a brown stallion. Link began to wonder, if maybe this world was a sister-world to Hyrule. It was as if nothing had really changed.

But of course, when the differences came up, they were only too significant. The little incident at the Silver Oak with his rupees had shown him that. Still, at least the natural world held its laws true. Here, out in the uninhabited areas, was where Link could feel his home. The same odors, the same sights and sounds, they were all those of his world.

As Link's feet pounded the rode, he wondered what Tarsen port would be like. He knew what a port was, but he had never actually been to one. Never actually been out to sea.. A ship would be a completely new experience to him, new world or no. He wondered what kind of fish and creatures inhabited the seas around here.

Within the next hour sunset turned to dusk, the light of the sun almost extinguished by the dark horizon. Link's sharp ears picked up the bustling sounds of commerce and foot traffic in the port before Tarsen actually came into view. The first thing to see was, well, the dock, obviously. There appeared to be a large number of warehouses for storing goods, and delivery stations. Interestingly enough, there didn't appear to be any market place here, and almost no houses, this must just have been an offloading point for goods before they were sent to the local stores in the region.

There was no gate, no guards to ask him questions in this place. What there was, was business. A lot of hustle and bustle for a place that very few people actually lived in, most of which traveled from the nearby towns to do work here. Porters hauling goods, ship sailors checking their crew, crewman working the ships, it was quite busy for a place that was really not a town, even as the sun was setting there were plenty of people walking the streets and the piers. What Link was also finding was that there were a number of people here very interested in Link. People would pass by and shoot incredulous glances at him as they walked away, or begin talking amongst themselves as he passed. It was strange the first few times, but it quickly grew to the level of irritating, aggravating even. The people here looked like anyone from his world, he couldn't really see the difference, so what made him stand out so much?

But Link's attention was instantly diverted to the Mediterranean Sea.. It was huge! Link had never seen such a massive expanse of water, Lake Hylia didn't even come close! He had heard of seas and oceans in Hyrule, but this was the first time he had ever seen one. White sea birds flocked overhead, looking for their next meal. The port extended out into the water, built on sand different from the beaches to the north and south. It was packed and solid and sturdy to build and walk on, not like the loose sand on the beaches not around the port area. Link remembered in a discussion with Daren, that they packed the sand tight to allow it to be built upon, so that there was a solid foundation for the buildings.

Link took in the sight for a few more minutes, the bustle of the ports and the scenery of the sea, but after a while, Link grew bored as the entire place seemed to exist simply for commerce. Sure, people needed work, but a busy place was not the kind of thing that usually caught his attention. And so, Link decided it was time to find a ship. It was getting dark out, and he'd like to leave here tonight if possible.

Link inquired around as to find if there were any ships headed to Alcia port, and quickly found out that there were quite a lot of them. Apparently Alcia was one of the most famous and busy places in the sailor's world.

"I suggest that ye visit my old friend Xand. He's an honest kind of man who'll probably find ye some kind of passage, for a small fee, of course." A young porter hauling goods advised Link. It was also this helpful person that clued him in to the fact that what the passerby would throw curious glances at, were his ears. Link made a mental note to find some place that would sell him something to cover his ears the second he got to Alcia. It wasn't as if he was hearing the word 'Demon' or some other offensive title tossed around, but he was not the kind of person who enjoyed attention.

Link made his way to where the ship, the "Rhine Maiden" was moored. It wasn't a large cargo vessel, but rather, appeared to be a more sleek ship than those. According to Xand's friend, this man was a messenger, which would explain the unusually sleek, fast, ship. People clambered around on the riggings of the ship, while others scrambled around on the deck, carrying crates of supplies and tools from one section of the ship to another. A large wooden boarding ramp extended down onto the dock where the ship swayed gently in the rising and falling waves that lashed gently against the wooden planks of the port.

As Link walked slowly up the boarding ramp, he was met by a lightly built, but tough-looking, armed man.

"Oy! What're ya doing? The Rhine Maiden is departing in an hour, so we don't have time to deal with hungry little whelps!"

"Please," Link asked the man, "I was instructed to meet with a man called Xand, who was captain of the Rhine Maiden. Do you know where I could find him?"

The man folded his arms in front of his chest and cocked his head to one side. "Yer talking to him, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on yer reasons for it. Now whaddya want?"

Link swallowed the lump that was beginning to build in his throat, not too sure if this man was going to co-operate with him. This man was not the honest kind man he had imagined him to be. He had a tough appearance, a scruffy beard on his chin. At least three different scars could be seen on his face. He wore simple white garments and a black vest, with a black bandana, with a curved saber at his hip. Link was worried, this man didn't look too co-operative, but he continued undaunted. "I need to get to Alcia as quickly as possible."

"And ya want me to take ya there." Xand quickly finished Link's thought. At Link's nod, he stroked his chin with a thoughtful frown on his face. "Make me an offer." The man said, grinning, which caused Link to notice two of the man's teeth were missing.

Link said nothing, he just reached into his pocket and withdrew a single green rupee and held it out in front of him. "Good enough?" Link said with far more confidence in his voice than he actually felt. What he felt that moment bordered between anxiety and mischievous glee. If this man had ANY idea how much Link was ripping him off...

Xand took a step backwards with an 'Are you serious?!' look on his face, but he was a learned man in the ways of haggling, so he would only be thrown for so long. His hand quickly whipped toward Link, snatching the rupee. "Done, there are two rules. One, stay out of me and my men's way. Two, give me yer name, or I'll just call ya 'whelp' all the way there, which bodes fine by me if that's what ya want."

"My name is Link." Link answered frankly, somewhat put off by this man.

"Fine Link, now shut up and get on. And stay below decks until we cast off. I don't want ya in my men's way, it's always busiest before we leave. And if ya feel like yer gonna be sick, do it over the rail. Now git, I got things to do."

Link almost considered asking, "Exactly how should I go about being sick over the rail while I'm below decks?", but he considered it best not to throw that in the man's face, who seemed irritated enough with him. So Link bowed in thanks, which got an amused grin and a shake of a head from Xand, and rushed on the ship. Link turned around to ask Xand just 'Where' below decks he was supposed to go, only to see that the man had disappeared while Link's back was turned. Link looked around, but seeing a pair of burly sailors carrying crates his way, Link decided to get out of their way and head below decks.

Link remembered deciding to wait in a small room off to the side which seemed to hold the purpose of storing grain. Sacks upon sacks of grain were piled into this room, and the entire roomed smelled thick of wheat. Link, not wanting to invade anyone's living space without their permission, ducked into here and waited. Every now and then a sailor or two would pass by, running errands or carrying heavy crates of supplies and whatever else was needed, but ultimately time passed with Link being relatively undisturbed.

Link sighed, having nothing to do as the time passed. He began with humming, starting with the songs he howled as a wolf, but it just didn't have the same effect. He didn't have the same joy that he had when he let the spirit of the wild flow through him as he howled. This time it was mundane, and did little to relieve his restlessness. Link loved music, during his early childhood he had whistled on pieces of grass, enjoying the various sounds that came out of them. Then his mother taught him to play the ocarina, a natural evolution of the basic grass whistle. It had all the same basic principles, but Link could produce more beautiful and clear sounds that way. Link had loved the peaceful tones of the ocarina. Unfortunately, he had left his mother's ocarina at home, in a completely different world.

So Link slipped slowly into a world of daydreams. He recalled stories his parents had told him. Stories of long ago, in a Hyrule very different from that of today. Link recalled with fascination the stories they had told him of the Hero of Time. The man who traveled the streams of time with a mystical sword and a magical ocarina of the royal family. He supposedly had strange magical powers within him, powers that must have faded over time, for Link learned through the Hero's Shade, that HE was the descendant of the Hero of Time. But he lacked the magical powers that the hero had, instead, inheriting secret and forbidden sword techniques. Link wondered what kind of magical powers the hero had. He had heard of three specfic magics that the hero wielded in his quest. He was given the power of the fires of Din. He moved with courage on the winds of Farore. And his wisdom submitted to the protection of the love of Nayru.

Lost in his thoughts, Link almost didn't realize that the ship was now moving. They had left already? Link didn't even hear the calls to cast off, even with his sharp ears. But the ship was moving, which meant Link was no longer confined to below decks. Link moved toward the stairs, but was quickly intercepted by Xand. "Come with me." Xand said, grabbing Link firmly, almost painfully, by the arm and forcing him into a room down the hall, which looked like his cabin. "Sit."Xand commanded, pointing to a wooden stool in front of a desk.

Link scowled, he didn't enjoy being commanded around, but he reminded himself that this was this man's ship, and Xand was not someone he wanted to get on the bad side of, especially when he remembered that Xand would never be more than fifty meters away from Link in any direction. And so he complied, taking his seat on the rather uncomfortable stool..

"Now, you've got some questions for me I take it?" Xand said, motioning to Link as he sat down in his chair on the other side of his desk, which was bolted to the floor, probably to prevent it from falling over in a storm or some other rough circumstance.. "Don't act so surprised, if I didn't learn to read people, I'd be dead now." Xand said after noticing the confused look on Link's face.

"Ye-yes," Link began, "How long will it take to reach Alcia? My friend said at least a week-"

"Four days." Xand cut Link off. "I don't think your friend counted on you traveling on a ship like this with a captain like me."

_'No, I really bet he didn't.'_ Link thought wryly to himself.

Xand reached under his desk and produced a bottle and a cup, and began to pour himself a very strong-smelling drink. Lifting the glass to his lips, Xand took a swig of the drink before setting the cup back down on the desk. "Ah, much better. Now then, anything else?"

Link shook his head no, he just needed to know when he'd be at his destination.

"Good. Now then, there are some rules. You know to stay out of our ways. I also don't want ya wandering the ship. You can be in yer quarters, the deck, and the galley. If I see ya anywhere else without an escort, I swear I will slit your stomach open and hang your intestines from the mast to flap in the breeze, have I made myself clear?"

Link nodded, showing no expression to Xand's threat. Link wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of being rattled by that. Besides, this guy had NOTHING on Ilia when she was angry, especially when it had to do with Epona. Her language may not have been foul, but Link would almost rather face Ganondorf again than Ilia's wrath..

"Good. Glad to see we understand each other. Oh, and one more thing," He said, taking another drink, "don't draw that sword on my ship, period, unless I am dead or I give you permission to."

"Why?" The words had come out of his mouth before Link realized that there was no way Xand would respond well to being questioned.

"Because I said so, and if you have a problem with that, you can swim." Xand said coolly, taking another drink from his cup, a stern look in his eyes.

Link knew he wouldn't hesitate to kick him off, and it took him a few seconds to realize he was almost glaring at this man. He had paid him for passage, and this guy was treating him like a nuisance. _'I suppose this is my punishment for practically cheating this guy.' _Link remarked, but that thought still made him smirk lightly. No matter what this man did, Link would have the satisfaction of knowing he had practically swindled the man. Link would have felt guilty if it were anyone else, but this man had it coming.

"What's so amusing?" Xand asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," Link said, shaking his head, still bearing that mischievous smirk.

"Hmph," Xand took another drink, "Well then get the hell out of here."

* * *

The life of a porter is not exactly filled with excitement and danger, just long days of hard, sweaty, and tedious, work. But Dijo never complained. He was young and strong, and it payed a fair amount of money. Ever since the disease which had left his mother bedridden for seven years, unable to walk and barely able to sit up, Dijo immediately returned to care for her. He couldn't make enough money to pay for a doctor, but he could make enough so that she would be able to eat and live, and who knows, maybe one day he could take her to the Athenian healers if he raised enough money. Rumor had it those people could perform miracles. But there was no way he could afford the trip and care of his mother and him at the same time. He would never complain, for he loved his family, and he knew his blessings, even the most taken-for-granted blessing of his own health, was to be put to use to help others. Anything less was to fail his duty to others and to his family. The strong provided for the weak. 

This was his duty. His mother had taken care of him when he was a child, and now it was his turn to repay the favor. So he worked hard every day, earning enough to get by comfortably. Today, he was hauling the one thing he hated to haul the most. Water. There was nothing quite like hauling fresh clean water. Virtually nothing weighed nearly as much as this, and if you dropped or spilled it, you couldn't pick it up again, and that usually involved at least one thoroughly unpleasant tongue-lashing from some half-drunk sailor, or worse, a completely drunk captain. And not even necessarily the ones Dijo was hauling goods for. Alcohol does such strange things to one's body.

This was his ninth trip tonight, and Dijo had just finished hefting the last barrel that would fit onto his towing cart. He was tired tonight, and had been yelled at far too many times tonight for 'slacking off'. Ironically, this usually came from aforementioned drunk sailors who had been doing a hard night of drinking while Dijo had been towing goods for them non-stop for almost four hours. But, since it was late, and the docks were all but empty, and no one was around to yell at him, he took this time to have a well-deserved rest.

As he leaned up against a mooring post and let his head hang wearily down, a figure approached from out of his view. A dock is not a silent place to walk, filled with creaky boards and logs rotting away from the water. However, the figure that approached was completely silent in its footsteps, as if its existence choked out all noise around it. So Dijo only noticed this figure when it was practically on top of him. Dijo was no fool, and was immediately wary of cloaked figures walking toward him at the more unholy hours. So as he turned to face this new person, one hand slid slowly around to his back where he kept his dagger. Only a fool works at a dock unarmed.

The figure raised their slender hands, signifying that it had no hostile intent. Dijo stood up straight, but he kept his hand on his dagger. "Can I help you?" He asked warily.

"I'm looking for someone." the voice came out, dark and mysterious, and obviously a woman's as well.

Dijo relaxed a bit, at least this person wanted nothing with him. "Well, I don't know if I can help you, but I can try. Who is he?"

"Do you know anyone by the name of Link?" She asked. When Dijo shook his head no, she launched into an explanation. "I am looking for a young man, maybe in his late teens or early twenties, blond hair, blue eyes. Wears a lot of green, has a sword and shield on his back. And most noticeably, he has long pointed ears..."

Well that sounded familiar to Dijo, It was the same young man asking him where he could find a ship that would leave tonight, not too long ago. "Aye, I've seen him."

"Where is he?" The woman asked, showing no change in expression in her voice.

"He left on a friend's ship this night, the 'Rhine Maiden'. Maybe about...six hours ago."

Well, she already knew he was headed for Alcia port. "Where can I find a ship ready to leave tonight?"

Dijo was surprised. Apparently this was very important to her. "Umm, you won't. All the captains are either getting drunk, are drunk, or are passed out. Either way, you're going to have to wait until morning to find a ship."

The cloaked stranger stood there silently, as if contemplating the options given them. _'So, the man has already left. Hmm...with any luck, he might get held up in Alcia. It is a large city. However, I can't leave tonight. Of all the luck...' _The woman nodded, "Thank you for your time," she said to Dijo, and walked away to find a place to stay the night.

Dijo watched with curiosity and concern as she walked away. What did she want? Well, it was none of his business, and he still had a few more barrels of water to haul. "Well, better get back to it." He said to himself, and without another thought on the matter, began towing the cart of water to his destination.

"I think I need a vacation..."

* * *

Four days had passed since Link boarded the Rhine Maiden. Between the general attitude of the crew considering him an annoyance, and Xand yelling at him almost non-stop for something or other, Link had pretty much just decided to stay in his quarters for the majority of the trip. He was fascinated by the sea and the surroundings, but the people on this ship made it nearly impossible to enjoy it. And after having Midna around him constantly, especially when he first met her, he had learned to tolerate **A LOT.** These people were just...Link didn't have any adjectives for these people that he was actually willing to use. 

This day however, something different happened. Link was down below deck, reading a book that Xand had, in one of his more gracious moments, given him. "The Edgemaster" was proving to be an very well-written book that had Link captivated from chapter one. But his sharp ears caught the sound of something above, a commotion that seemed unreasonable. The sea was calm, but there was a lot of shout and screaming above decks. Link set down his book and grabbed his sword and shield. The words of Xand were quite clear, but Link was still going to have them with him, even if he had no intention of drawing his weapon.

With his equipment firmly in place, Link made his way toward the deck. However, Link stopped dead on the stairs when he heard the voices. They were different from any of the crew. And even from this angle, he could see another mast stretching into the sky.

So they had been boarded.

Link cautiously continued his way up the stairs, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself. What he saw puzzled him. At least a dozen men with drawn weapons stood on the deck of the Rhine Maiden, but none of Xand's crew had drawn their weapons. Between the two groups, Xand stood, talking with another man who Link could only assume was the leader of the people boarding the ship.

Link felt a firm hand grip his arm and felt the tip of a blade pressed against his back. From behind him, he could hear "Hey! There was another one below decks!" Link considered fighting back, but from the looks of it, Xand had something in mind. Xand shot Link a glance that said, _'Don't do anything stupid'_, more clearly than someone screaming it in his ears, and then the man who grabbed Link had forced him over with the rest of the crew. Well, at least here, he could overhear the entire conversation.

"Well Xand, new crew member?" The man speaking with the captain asked. He spoke with a cocky drawl and he carried an air of superiority with him.

"No Curth, he's a passenger." Xand said. Link was amazed, Xand didn't even seem remotely worried.

"Well, isn't that a surprise. Taking on passengers, are we?"

Xand shrugged, "What can I say, he pays well."

Curth waved his hand, dismissing the subject. "Enough of that. You know why I'm here. The message. Where is it?" The man named Curth asked.

"I believe we've been over this already Curth, there are no messages on this ship. I'm just ferrying a passenger."

"Liar! We ALL know it's here! You deliver messages from China!"

Xand shook his head, smiling, "You're welcome to search the ship AGAIN Curth, but I guarantee, it's not here."

"If I find it, I'm going to make this deck a pretty new red color." He turned around and waved at the dozen or so men behind him, "Search the ship boys!"

The whole search took about three hours, until the men were thoroughly satisfied that it was not here. Planks had been pulled up, crates overturned and emptied, and quite the mess was made in the process, but apparently, the look of frustration on Curth's face proved that they had found nothing. As the boarding party got ready to depart. Link could barely overhear the conversation they carried on a fair ways away from the rest of the crew. "I WILL find Soul Edge Xand. You will screw up and you will put those letters in a clumsy spot, and then I will have no further use for you."

Xand grinned, "And fair winds to you as well Curth." This statement seemed to highly irritate the man. But Curth said nothing as he walked back on the boarding plank to his ship.

Link was astounded as the two ships set sail. They had just...let them go? He had to know what was going on. So Link approached Xand.

"How did you do that?" Link asked, not quite sure where to begin.

Xand chuckled, "I assume you mean how they let us go? Well, let's put it this way. I deliver letters for the emperor of China," Xand began, sitting down on a crate, "Apparently the emperor has this fascination with Soul Edge. Well, Curth wants Soul Edge for himself, so he's been trying to raid me for information every time I pass through these waters. Each time he finds nothing, but he is afraid to kill me because he knows killing an official messenger for the Ming Empire would not be a smart career move." He chuckled again, "But he never finds anything. He didn't find the messages this time either, and sometimes I wish he would figure it out."

Link frowned, it was a bit confusing, but he could grasp it okay. "Well, where are the letters?" Link asked.

Xand chuckled again, "That's the funny thing Link, the letters don't exist."

"You mean you don't deliver messages?"

Xand shook his head, "Oh no, I deliver messages. They pay me quite handsomely too. But there are no letters to find."

Link frowned, "I don't get it."

Xand grinned, "Link, I destroy the letters when they are given to me." Seeing Link's shocked look, he explained, "Listen, I have a gift. I can look at something, and two weeks later I can recall it with perfect clarity. In fact, all I need when I deliver the messages is the emperor's seal. So he writes the letter, I study it, and then he stamps his seal on a blank piece of parchment. When I get to where I am supposed to deliver the letter, I write it down on the sealed paper so that there is no fear that it is not from the emperor, and then I deliver the message. It's kept me out of quite a bit of trouble, and I am payed quite handsomely for my skills."

Link just stared. He had never, in his whole life, seen anyone as crafty as Xand. This man just had no end to the number of surprises about him.

Xand rose to his feet and looked at Link. "Now Link, I haven't shared that secret for many people, I'm not even entirely sure why I told you when common sense says I shouldn't, so let me make this clear-"

"If I tell anyone, you'll hang me from the nearest tower by my intestines." Link finished for him with an annoyed frown on his face.

"Ah, glad to see you're a quick learner." Xand said with a pleased grin. "Now make sure you're ready to go, we should be at Alcia this afternoon." With that, Xand walked below decks as the crewmen began to go about cleaning up the mess the pirates had left behind as if nothing had happened, leaving a very confused Link up on deck.

* * *

It was about four hours when the cry of 'LAND HO!' bellowed out from the crows nest, wrenching Link's attention away from the western horizon. Off in the distance, a small land mass could be seen just on the northern horizon, with splinters of white protruding from the earth into the sky. It was soon going to be time to disembark. Link decided to head below decks and make sure that everything was ready to go. 

Link didn't have much to pack, it was all very easy to get in order, but Link took his time, organizing messy things in his pack, re-organizing what went where for easier access, all in all it took about an hour. Everything had its place in his pack where he would be able to reach into his pack without digging through it and quickly grab what he needed. Except one thing, ironically, the smallest thing in his pack.

The shard of Soul Edge again was glowing that ominous red color. This always brought with it another mental attack, another foreboding vision, or just the general threat of Soul Edge against the one who resisted it. Link did not even want to touch the metal, as he knew what would happen. But Link could not just leave it here. So, bracing himself, Link reached forward and captured the metal in his palm.

Pain shot through his body, and he fell to the floor as the aura which bore the voice of Soul Edge again raced toward his mind. His muscles burned as if on fire, and his entire body began to twitch and convulse uncontrollably. Link did everything in his power to stop from screaming, not wanting the entire ship to bear witness to what was happening. His eyes grew blurry with tears of pain, but he kept them open to see the malevolent force made its way toward his head, and soon the pain faded, to be replaced with the sinister whispers of Soul Edge.

But this time, a new feeling introduced itself. As the whispers grew more steadily in fervor and volume, Link felt a new presence, one that seemed familiar, though Link could not place it for some reason. But it was not his imagination, it was there. There was no doubt, because the aura of Soul Edge reacted to this new presence. The sinister whispers which always subtly tried to coerce Link to its evil will, changed. They turned from assured sinister whispers into screams. Screams of anger and rage, but remarkably enough, of pain and fear and surprise as well. The raised voices battered at Link's mind, causing him to sink to his knees, grasping his head in pain. It was as if there was a war being fought within his mind.

Soon, the screams began to die down, as if a wall to shut them out was being erected in Link's mind. The more quiet the voices became, the more desperate and fearful they seemed to be, until eventually, the voices died out entirely, leaving nothing more than a bad headache. Link picked himself up, holding his head in his hands as he tried to shake the dull ache in his head away.

_'What...just happened?'_ Link wondered. _'It was like something fought Soul Edge, but that never happened before..." _Link clutched one hand to his chest as he felt his heart beating against his rib cage like he had just wind-sprinted his way to Athens. Link took a few minutes to recover from his episode, when he realized that he was still holding the fragment of Soul Edge, again just faintly glowing, as if it had exhausted its power for the time being. He continued to ponder what this all meant, but Link's attention was wrenched towards the deck when he heard the captain calling his name. Link shook his head again as his headache returned, then slipped the shard into his travel bag and headed towards the deck.

"I thought you might want to see we're almost in port." He gestured to the landmass that had been spotted some time ago. When he first saw it, Link could only barely make out the land on the horizon. Now however, Link could clearly make out the city that had stretched for miles along the coastline Virtually every building was made out of some kind of white stone that Link had never seen before. Spires of white towered hundreds of feet above the metropolis, as if the entire city were trying to reach into the cloudless sky. Hundreds of ships, from simple fishing boats to massive trade barges, lined its many ports. Overlooking the docks, on a steep and rocky cliff, was a massive lighthouse, the light being extinguished as it was the middle of the day.

Link was aghast. All he had known in his life was simple Ordon. When he first saw Hyrule City in all its glory, it had taken his breath away. The city of Hyrule was the center of all activity in Hyrule. Alcia must have been at least four times larger. The entire place was massive and magnificent, and Link felt as if it could swallow him into those huge crowds all the way out here, still at sea. A voice caught his attention, But Link could not break his eyes away from the city.

"Link," Xand said, grinning at Link's shocked expression, "welcome to Alcia."


	4. The Second Shard

Author Note: I would like to apologize profusely to all my loyal readers and reviewers, I decided to stop for a bit, and 'a bit' ended up becoming eight months. Sorry to all you guys, hope you'll still be on to read and review this one. Anyways, I apologize also if my writing is somewhat poor, it's been eight months since this project, so I may be somewhat 'out of it' when it comes to writing. That's why I need some critical reviews from you guys! Thanks for being patient, (or at least ignoring me instead of sending me any nasty E-Mails telling me what a loser I am) I'll try to get back into the swing of things. I promise an interesting turn of events by next chapter!

**Soul Calibur 2**

**No Sword Forged Stronger**

Chapter 4: The Second Shard

* * *

The ship quickly got busy again as the sleek Rhine Maiden smoothly sailed its way into Alcia Port. Burly crew members began barking orders and epithets to fellow crewmen, organizing the arduous task of getting the entire ship ready for docking. Those not important enough to have the luxury of yelling orders and curses at others as the biggest part of their jobs began toting massive crates of supplies, setting the sails, and other things involved with getting the ship safely docked into the port and ready to take on further tasks. Leaning over the rail, with a brisk sea breeze whipping at his blond hair, Link did not stay below decks, choosing instead to admire the splendorous city of Alcia as it drew ever closer. On more than one occasion, a sailor would bump into Link, muttering epithets about 'That dumb brat' or, 'that clumsy, land-bound oaf', but Link made a point of not listening, instead focusing on the awe-inspiring beauty of his wondrous destination.

The afternoon sun spilled its warm, white rays down on the radiant ivory spires that stretched forth from the city floor toward the heavens, the brilliant bright shine adding a radiant, almost otherworldly beauty to them. Even the more humble building were sleek and elegant structures fit for all but the most pampered Hylian noble, constructed from some kind of white alabaster stone completely foreign to Link. A mighty stone wall encircled the powerful city, marking this place as a mighty military bastion. Further out in the bay, as flocks of white-feathered seabirds circled overhead, Link could make out a number of sleek and maneuverable, yet also somewhat intimidating vessels in the waters, far more prominent than the humble fishing trawlers and lumbering trade cogs. Link guessed that it could only be the Alcian coast guard, patrolling the waters to keep pirates and other seaborne undesirables out of the bay, away from the large congregation of otherwise vulnerable targets. And if those weren't enough of a deterrent for any would-be pirate, far off in the distance, a massive and powerful warship was silhouetted against an ominous gray horizon.

Link delayed leaving a while as massive ropes almost as thick as his waist were tied to mooring posts and several wooden ramps were lowered to allow the ship's crew ashore. The atmosphere of the ship was still unfriendly and businesslike, but the majority of vulgar curses and angry threats being shouted died down noticeably as a fair amount of the crew's compliment immediately went ashore. Whether to initiate serious business or to relax and indulge in the rowdy pleasures of bawdy tavern crowds and ale tankards was unknown to Link, but regardless of what 'business' still needed to be handled, he lingered a moment on board the vessel. There was still something he needed an answer to. He was looking for Xand, but as usual, and much to Link's discomfort, Xand uncannily found him first.

"We've arrived." Link, who could have sworn he had just seen Xand walk below decks, almost jumped out of his boots as the familiar, gruff, disgruntled voice barked from behind him, "what the hell are ya still doin' on my ship?"

"Well," Link said with a poorly concealed note of surprise after he recovered from his initial shock, "I wanted to ask you something before I left."

Xand folded his arms across his chest and put on an expression even more unpleasant than the weather on the western horizon, "You payed me to ferry you across the Mediterranean, not to be interrogated. As far as I'm concerned, our business is done."

"Please," Link pleaded, "it's just one question, and it's urgent. It's why I needed passage, why I'm even here."

Xand glared at Link for some time, and appeared almost ready to refuse, but apparently Link's almost childlike sincerity won him over as he sighed and unfolded his arms,

"All right, fine, fine. But you better make it quick. I have reasons of my own for being here. I didn't come just to drop you off."

Link sighed mentally with relief, "You said you deliver messages for the emperor of China, right?"

"Well, I've only delivered for the emperor once, the other times were just high-ranking officials." Xand corrected, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, as if this line of questioning made him edgy and nervous.

"Oh," Link said, slightly discouraged and taken aback, but not entirely ready to abandon his line of questioning. "Well, would you happen to know if they actually did discover anything about a sword called Soul Edge?"

As soon as he asked, Link realized that perhaps it was not best to touch upon this area with Xand. The man scowled noticeably, his eyes boring into Link's skull like a pair white-hot needles piercing through his own eyes to penetrate into the deepest, most secret area of his mind. When he finally did speak, it was with a note of suspicion, and a noticeable tone of steel in his voice. "...I'm not going to disclose the contents of those messages."

"But I need to kn-" Link began, but was silenced by Xand who waved his hand rudely in front of Link.

"I don't think you understand, _boy_." Xand said, emphasizing the derogatory comment as he cut Link off. "I _will not_, under _any_ circumstances, disclose that to _anyone_. In hindsight, I should probably kill you for telling you how I deliver my messages." His voice turned to anger, and Link could see a darkness in Xand's eyes that was not there previously. A deep, unnatural, darkness. "I think it would be in your best interest, if you left before you bring too much suspicion on yourself." Xand lightly tapped the hilt of his curved sabre and jerked his head in the direction of the ramp leading to shore. "Get the hell off my ship."

Link was taken aback. Xand was never friendly, but he had never been so openly hostile at the mere mention of Soul Edge. Any number of reasons existed to explain this unnatural animosity, but Link was still slightly shocked at this. He thought back to Daren and how helpful he had been. Apparently the people of this world were as diverse as those of his world, both good and bad. Link considered trying to get an answer anyways, but he was facing an unreasonable captain with an armed crew. As much as he wished he could talk him down, this avenue of questioning was lost, and if he pushed it, the same might be said for his appendages. So, with a discouraged spirit and a disappointed frown, Link departed the Rhine Maiden.

Despite the situation ten minutes ago that had closed Link's line of questioning and put him in poor graces with the Rhine Maiden's captain, Link found himself in an ever curious mood, and the events of the past were soon behind him as he admired his surroundings. The entire city was breathtaking to him. Large enough to hold two Hyrule Towns in it, and seeming to bustle with more people than the metropolis could hold, Link was amazed. His amazement quickly became overwhelming, and it didn't take long at all for it to work its way toward discomfort. Having grown up in Ordon, Hyrule Town was jarring to him. Alcia could only be described as a cultural sensory overload. He could hardly hear himself over the roaring sea of conversations being carried on, and was constantly buffeted and shoved by the crowd of people all around him.

So, in stark contrast to the excitement and awe he had felt only an hour ago, Link found himself wanting to get out of it as quickly as he had gotten in. This atmosphere required a massive amount of getting used to, and he was not possessed of the inclination to stay that long. First, however, he had some business. He needed to exchange some of his rupees for some actual currency, and he needed to find something to cover his ears. On top of that, he needed safe passage to Athens. Daren, who knew this land far better than he, suggested a traveling group or some kind of caravan, a wise decision regardless of what world you are in, Link thought. If worse came to worse, he could simply walk to Athens, but that would be the slowest and most dangerous option. But regardless of what course of action he took, first things came first. He needed some real money. So, with that in mind, Link began to make his way toward the nearest bazaar.

It was at this point that Link's occasional absent-mindedness had gotten the better of him. Link had actually walked for about ten minutes before he realized that he actually didn't know where to find a place to sell his rupees, or for that matter, even where he was walking. A sharp slap sounded as Link slammed his palm into his forehead in frustration and private embarrassment. He couldn't believe he had actually just done that. Link had taken off from the Rhine Maiden in far too great a hurry, and had gone and gotten himself lost. He was wandering the most massive city he had even seen, much less been in, with absolutely no idea where in the world he was going. He had seen no evidence of a market center in the areas he had wandered, nor could he get anyone to help him, each person leading their own lives but too busy to take the time out of it for someone else. Link knew going back to the ship was out of the question, unless he wanted to try incapacitating the entire rough and burly crew and then proceeding to beat the information out of Xand, which he thought was beyond his abilities. He may have defeated the King of Evil, but he didn't do that by being stupid. And the likelihood of someone taking time out of their day to help him in an overwhelmingly busy place like this was even smaller than Link beating the entire Alcian military with a table knife.

And so he took to wandering, trying to use every sense of logic to figure out where he was supposed to go, but nothing came to him. The design of the city was familiar to that of Hyrule, yet at the same time, nothing seemed so straightforward as to be divided into easy, manageable, sections. Wandering aimlessly through this massive community center could easily set any foreign soul on edge, and considering he was from a completely different world, Link was just about as foreign as you could get. He was lost, and quickly getting even more lost by the second. Countless roads, avenues, lanes, and all of them very crowded. There were a number of alleys and suspicious side streets, but Link was not stupid enough to take a leisurely stroll through a potential death trap. Walking through an alleyway looking lost was asking for trouble, and Link had enough trouble just figuring out where to go..

Eventually, after being fed up with getting lost, Link soon came up with a sort of half-baked idea to find his destination without having to draw a map of this infernal city. He would look for people who appeared to be carrying bought goods. The more he finds, the closer to his destination he would get. Link could only sigh as he realized that it was, at best, a poor plan. But his patience was running out and just about anything was preferable to just walking around clueless. "A bad plan is better than no plan, right?"

Link frowned as he recalled that old saying. He couldn't quite remember exactly where or from whom he had heard that. The only thing he could remember with any amount of clarity was that he was pretty sure whoever had told him was not someone usually worth listening to.

After almost thirty minutes of this bad plan, Link was about ready to abandon it and try something else, when a relieved grin broke out on his face. The Goddesses must have been smiling on him this whole trip here. Ever since his arrival, he had been horribly lost and confused. When he really needed it, something always went just right enough to get him through. When he first came to this world, he didn't step through the portal only to wind up in a volcano. When it started raining, he took a wild guess that led him to shelter. When he didn't have any money or idea where to go next, he ran into an extremely helpful stranger. Then, he managed to hitch a ride on the best ship in Tarsen Port. And now this ridiculous, half-baked idea actually paid off! Link was no longer having doubts that some divine force was watching after him. Just as he was absolutely certain that this ridiculous plan was bound to lead him off a cliff, he arrived in a very obvious business hub. The crowds were even more substantial here, and Link could not take more than a few steps without bumping into someone or having someone bump into him. Again and again Link apologized, until he realized that most of the people he apologized to didn't even seem to notice him bumping into them. Just like it was a way of life here. The concept of this experience being repeated day after day until it became expected, momentarily terrified Link..

The sun was high overhead now, if he didn't hurry up and finish his errands here, he would have to stay the night in this city, and Link was already starting to develop an acute case of claustrophobia. The district was bustling with activity. Merchants and salesmen of all different kinds shouted to passerby about the superb quality of their goods. Link casually browsed each stall he passed on his way toward his intended destination, not sure whether to be amazed at the incredible selection of wares or baffled as he wondered who would buy half of these things. He began to get the feeling that he was getting closer to a place to sell his rupees, as the number of stands and crowds lessened and buildings and wealthy-looking establishments became more prominent. Even so, it still took him a while to find what he was looking for. "Calda's Jewelry Emporium" was painted across the placard of an elegant, white, two-story, building. The clear soothing chime of a bell echoed in the doorway as he passed the door frame and entered the establishment, apparently to alert the store owner that he had customers.

The entire establishment gave the same feeling Link got when he first visited the only emporium back in Hyrule Town. The inside was far more elaborate than the plain white outside. A fine red carpet lined the floor, feeling plush under Link's booted feet, as if he was walking on a flat pillow. Scarlet drapes were pulled to the sides of the windows, allowing the sun to make its way into the store. The air was even warmer in here than outside in the warm afternoon sun, thanks to an elaborate chandelier adorned with sixteen candles. Two braziers rested on the front counter that also doubled as a display case, the faint odor of some kind of cheap incense arising from them along with two, barely visible, streams of gray smoke. Link disliked rich places like this, but realized that the person was far more likely to pay a higher price. That is, if the person bought gemstones, and not just worked metal, like jewelry.

Link crouched down to examine the jewelry in the cases. It was to his interest that he noted that a number of these pieces seemed to be made out of a similar material to the white stone of the buildings, but it was some kind of metal, not stone. As he was studying these pieces, he heard footfalls from the staircase behind the counter. Looking up, he spotted a thin scrawny man approaching. This man wore a rich, royal blue tunic with white sleeves. His garb seemed unusually plain, perhaps he did not want to seem superior to his customers. He strode silently to the counter with a smile on his face. Link supposed that the smile was meant to be pleasant, but he couldn't help but relate him to a vulture eying its next meal. He also noticed that this man had more teeth in his head than any person he had seen in his life.

"Ah, welcome to Calda's Jewelers," The man said with a bit of an over-the-top flair, waving his hand at the fine jewelry on the walls and in the case, "I, of course, would be Calda, purveyor of precious metals of all kinds! We've got the most wonderful selection of priceless gems in Alcia."

_'I'm sure you do'_ Link thought wryly to himself. In a place like this, could anyone make that claim? Link looked over the man he was going to do business with. Everything from the obvious larcenous glint in his eye to the all too clever smile left Link with the distinct impression that he was dealing with a dishonest person. Normally, Link was not one to judge on outward appearances. After all, he had held the outward appearance of a _wolf_ more than a few times. But nothing about this man really screamed "I'm trustworthy!" to him.

"Well, what are you looking for my young noble?" Calda said, though the tone he said it with suggested that he didn't really think Link was a noble, or fit to be here. "A necklace for a special young woman, perhaps?"

Link decided right there to not let his mind wander much, because he had a feeling that if he didn't keep focused, he'd be swindled out of everything he had. So Link squared his shoulders and looked directly at Calda with the most business-like expression he could put on.

"Actually, I'm here to sell." Link said, reaching into his wallet. The bell rang lightly again as a pair of customers, a young man and woman, probably not any older than Link, though certainly wealthier, entered. Judging by the way they were hanging onto each other, Link supposed they were a couple of young lovers. Link noted this, in case he needed to put this possible dishonest man in an awkward position.

"Truly?" The vulture-faced man said, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "Well, it is welcome, provided the goods are in fine condition. I only buy the finest, you know," he said, as Link withdrew a green rupee, a blue rupee, and a red rupee.

Link frowned, not knowing how the currency system worked here, he didn't know what would be a reasonable price. He'd have to come up with a way to convince this man to give him a good price, without letting on that he didn't know how much these were worth. Then he got an idea, one that would work regardless of how trustworthy this man was.

"I have some foreign gems here that I've never seen before, I need you to tell me which of these is the least valuable," Link said. He watched closely as the man eyed the gems appraisingly as Link set them on the counter before him. Calda looked up slowly at Link with a noticeable glint in his eye.

"The LEAST valuable? That seems strange, don't you think?"

Link shrugged, as if he was far more confident in this than he really was. "I need the other two for...a debt."

The jeweler smiled cleverly, "Ah, we all have debts, don't we?" He chuckled lightly, though whether because he thought Link's make-believe situation was amusing or because he believed he was dealing with a completely clueless person was unknown. Well, he was dealing with someone completely clueless. Just not in the way he though. "Well," He said, pointing to one of the rupees on the counter, "it would have to be that green one there. Probably only worth...ninety-seven silver pieces."

Link nodded, "All right then, I'll sell." He said, causing the store owner burst into a wide grin.

"Well then, I'll take this..." Calda said, reaching for the rupee, but Link stopped him and withdrew the blue and green rupees from the counter.

"Not that one," Link said. "I'd like to sell the red one." He said, depositing the other two in his pocket. That was his plan. If he truly was dishonest, and it wasn't the least valuable, he would find himself caught in a lie and have to pay more for something that wasn't worth as much. And if he was honest, well, then Link wasn't losing anything anyways, since his rupees weren't useful as currency here.

If the jeweler's grin dropped off his face any faster his skull probably would have caved in. his face set into a scowl, and his eyebrows furrowed in a poorly-hidden anger. All in all, he looked like his birthday had been canceled this year. "I see, fine. A hundred and thirty pieces." He said it with a dark look that suggested that he was not used to being caught in a lie, and he didn't like it much either.

Link nodded, "All right, then I'll sell."

Calda mumbled something to himself as he walked int the back, returning with a small pouch, which he placed on the counter in front of Link. Link poured the money out and counted and shook his head. "There's only sixty-five here. You're missing half."

"Yes, yes," Calda snapped angrily, "they're worth 130 silver pieces, I payed you in gold, it's worth twice as much. I didn't feel like packing 130 silver pieces up, and I doubt you'd want to carry them either."

"My thanks for the...consideration," Link commented, "but the tutorial wasn't necessary. I know how the currency system works," Link blatantly lied, because he actually had absolutely no clue how this world's currency system worked.

"Ah, yes. Well, then, is there anything else you want? I'm not interested in buying any more from you," Calda said, though his voice was slowly returning to its normal tone as the couple who had entered had began to move closer to them.

"That'll be all." Link said with a straight face. In reality, he wanted to do a little victory jig while mocking the man, but he was a bit more mature than that. However, he probably ended up with even more money than his rupee was actually worth.

"Thank you for your patronage, sir." The jeweler said in a completely displeased voice as Link walked out the door., his eyes burning with hatred into the Ordonian's back.

Link stepped outside back into the afternoon sun, the stuffy smells of perfume and heat of the smoke and candles that lined the emporium fading away, as if some kind of unnatural heaviness being lifted off his shoulders. Replacing it was the gentle, golden kiss of sunbeams on his lightly tanned skin, and the whispers of the brisk, pure breeze that tugged playfully at his clothes. He stretched, feeling somehow refreshed after leaving the stuffy emporium, before he shook his head and laughed lightly to himself at what he had just done. He had outwitted a con man who was ready to take advantage of his cluelessness. Wow, apparently Xand was rubbing off on him a bit. Link thought about that statement for a moment and wondered whether or not that was a good thing. He wasn't exactly what he would call an ideal role model. After pondering a bit, Link turned and headed back the way he had first came.

He had previously passed a more humble stand with a sturdy travel cloak that he had decided to get not just for the purpose of covering his ears, but also to avoid being stranded out in bad weather with no shelter. Fortunately picking up this garment went fairly smoothly, as the person he was dealing with was far more honest than the shrewd-eyed cheat he had walked away from only fifteen minutes ago, and so Link walked away from the stand wearing a sturdy, dark, forest green, hooded cloak. Fortunately, since he also had the merchant's attention, he also managed to ask where he could find transportation out of town. She gave him directions to 'The Last Resort', a...uniquely named inn where traders who had just gotten off their ships on their way to Athens had a tendency to bunk for the night. Link gratefully thanked the woman and headed out, wanting to get off these crowded streets as quickly as possible.

Link took a left from the merchant's quarter and back onto the main road. His boots clacked rhythmically against the cobblestone road as he played with the clasp of his cloak. He had never worn a cloak before, and he wanted to feel comfortable in it as quickly as possible, including being able to take it off in a quick motion. This was why he was toying with the clasp, trying to get used to the motion involved until he could do it without even thinking about it. Like how he could draw his sword from its scabbard in one swift, smooth motion without stumbling or grating it against the sheathe. He had counted sixty-eight successful removals of the clasp when suddenly, some internal alarm screamed at him that something was very wrong. He stopped dead still in the road, his head snapping up as he surveyed his surroundings. Link scanned the crowd intently, trying to find someone or something out of place. After a while, as he was just about to shrug it off as his imagination, he caught a glimpse of someone, a woman, garbed in a dark red tunic and brown pants. A lithe longsword belted at her hip, and her brown, neck length hair tied into a short ponytail. Link would normally consider this innocuous, had he not been absolutely certain he had seen the same person soon after he had left the Rhine Maiden. What ultimately convinced Link however, was the powerfully built, brutish man standing next to her, Link recognized him as one of Xand's crew, one he was never able to go a day on the ship without offending or annoying in some way.. And both of them were staring at Link, who carefully avoided looking right at them.

A light sweat began to form on his brow, as Link's breathing quickened slightly. Had Xand changed his mind, deciding it was too dangerous to let Link live knowing his secret? Or was it perhaps that he had just gotten in a sailor's way one too many times? No matter the reason, seeing these two, both of whom he could swear he had seen back at port, was far too coincidental for Link to just ignore. He refastened the clasp to his cloak and put the hood up, just to make him that much harder to spot against the crowd, and resumed his walking, deciding perhaps that The Last Resort should wait till he figured out what was going on here.

It took him ten minutes to completely convince Link that not only were they following him, but they weren't going to leave either, and he guessed they'd been following him ever since he left the docks. He thought back to his choice not to utilize the side streets and now realized that was an even more wise decision than he first thought. He assumed it was safe to say that the only reason he hadn't encountered them face-to-face yet was because the crowded streets had made it impossible to proceed inconspicuously with whatever they had in mind. Link's mind raced as he tried to come up with a way to throw them off. Link opted for the less subtle option. As he made a turn onto another street, and after breaking the line of sight between them momentarily, Link broke into a swift sprint.

The decision to turn the corner before running had paid off, because he was a good fifty or so feet ahead before his pursuers rounded the bend, each of them looking equally surprised at their supposedly unsuspecting quarry running off. Link managed to quickly throw a glance over his shoulders to see each of his pursuers looking startled and surprised before giving pursuit.

The road was wide here, so the crowd was more thoroughly dispersed throughout the street, giving Link plenty of room to maintain his reckless pace, but unfortunately, the same could be said for his pursuers. Link was not necessarily the quickest person in the world, but he could hardly be classified as slow, especially when you considered that between his bow, quiver, sword, shield, and travel bag, he was carrying about twenty to twenty-five pounds of equipment. With his above-average foot speed, he easily outpaced the burly sailor, but the woman following him was easily closing the distance, and Link knew that she would keep this dogged pursuit more harrowing than her partner, who was lagging behind. Link couldn't simply outpace this woman, he would have to try something different.

Turning into a more crowded street, Link hoped running through the crowd would prove more difficult for his pursuers. Bobbing and weaving through the bodies, he realized this was not working. He had to make up his path on the spot, they just had to follow in his wake. As the sailor and the woman began to rapidly close the distance, Link resorted to something less subtle and literally plowed through the crowd, knocking people aside and out of his way. His pursuers were slowed somewhat, with having to leap over the people he pushed to the ground, or around the people Link knocked behind him, but the distance between them was still getting less with each second. Link soon figured that he couldn't outrun them, not here. He'd have to break away and hide.

Link threw a glance over his shoulder to witness the brown-haired woman only a matter of steps behind him. How had she gained ground so quickly?! He weaved to the side of the street, roughly knocking aside a pair basket-carrying women in the process, when he saw a desperate, temporary escape route. The woman was almost within arms reach of him now. She reached out her arm to grab a hold of Link, her fingers only inches from the collar of his tunic. Just ahead was a merchant stand, directly in his path. This normally would have slowed him to the point where his pursuers could easily catch him...if he considered it an obstacle. He did not. Instead of trying to dodge around the wooden stall, Link spectacularly dove right through it, just barely evading the reach of the woman behind him and providing valuable distance. As he agilely rolled to his feet in a skillful recovery from the dive, he heard both the woman and the dismayed merchant whose stall he had just dove through scream a curse, but fortunately, Link would not be slowed by harsh words..

As he dashed through the crowd, Link spotted a side street and again turned right off the main path, knocking over another person in the process. He found himself running into a somewhat shabby-looking place, a stark contrast to the rest of the normally opulent city. Several wooden beams overhung the street, the alleyway was covered by some kind of stone ceiling overhead, giving a dark and dreary look to the entire street. Litter was sporadically strewn along the sides of the path, and the stone walls and ceiling were cracked and covered in black mold.. He must have just begun to enter some form of slum, even this great city must have its less splendorous areas. Just as he turned the corner, Link's eyes fell on a shadowy alcove that could prove a potential hiding spot. Taking a sharp right, he entered the shadows, and what he had almost completely glanced over, was a bench with two people sitting on it, apparently just resting as they did not appear to be interacting with each other in any way. Link saw his chance, dodged into the alcove, and sat in between them, praying silently this would work.

He watched with baited breath as both of his pursuers rounded the corner he just came through and astoundingly, ran right past him and the shadows of the alcove he was sitting in. Both of them broke their pace and came to a sharp halt, looking around, bewildered expressions decorating both of their faces.

"What the-?! Where'd he go?" The woman who had made the chase so harrowing exclaimed angrily, confused by her prey's sudden disappearance.

The sailor, obviously short of breath, cursed and spat on the ground. The two looked around for a few moments, but as time passed, the sailor appeared to become nervous. "Tanika, perhaps we shouldn't stay here, we caused quite a commotion. The guards are going to be coming, and they'll have questions I'm not quite ready to answer."

The woman named Tanika nodded slowly, as if in deep contemplation, "So, he got away...lucky whelp." She sneered, "All right Vaughn, let's get out of here before we make any more of a scene." With notable tension in the air, the two walked away, the woman muttering a rather foul oath as they left.

Link let out a sigh of relief, now allowing himself to breathe heavily after that chase. However, he realized that both the people beside him were looking at him suspiciously, throwing glances between Link and his two pursuers as they began to put two and two together and wonder what had just happened.. Common sense didn't take long to kick in, and Link decided it would be in his best interest to get far away from this place as well. Making sure to take a different route than Tanika and Vaughn took, Link walked back out into the streets, making sure to carefully dodge around what looked to be a patrol of armed guards investigating the recent commotion.

Link didn't fiddle with his clasp on his way to The Last Resort, keeping each of his senses sharp as a knife. He'd be looking over his shoulder for as long as he was in Alcia, and now he was even more pressured to get out of Alcia as soon as possible. Link was hesitant about going to the same destination, seeing as he did not know if the two mysterious figures that appeared to have taken up residence in his own shadow had overheard where he was going or not.

After about an hour had passed, as the last golden rays of the sunset were fading out of sight and dusk set in, Link arrived at the doorstep of a two-story stone and wood building. Link looked around carefully, and much to his relief, found that there was no sign of his stalkers, and so he set off towards the entrance.

'The Last Resort' was a relatively modest inn, with its name painted across a large sign on the second floor balcony in rich gold lettering, looking out into the street. In the cobblestone walkway that lead up to the inn, a small channel was carved into the ground and ran all the way around the building, filled with water to create a small, perpetual stream that passed underneath the arch in the small, three-step flight of stairs that led toward the entrance. On the roof, in a small dark alcove, Link's sharp eyes spotted an old bird nest, its former inhabitants grown up either to fly free in the skies, or to become food for a larger predator that dwelt in the endless blue expanse.

The wooden door opened with a creak of protest and the silvery chime of a bell echoed, marking the arrival of another potential paying customer. Link made a face at the sound, recalling the same experience in the jewelry store of the weasel-faced thief, and a town runner wearing a bell around his neck to warn people to move aside. And now that he thought about it, the Silver Oak Inn he had stayed a few nights ago had a bell above the door as well. People in this world seemed to have a strange affinity for bells that Link could just not understand.

Inside, the atmosphere was much heavier, in part due to the unusually large crowd of patrons, and also due to the lamps that burned in the lonelier sections of the room, where the dancing light of the merrily crackling fire in the hearth didn't quite reach. More people than this inn seemed accustomed to loitered about the common room, telling stories and laughing heartily, all the while having one tankard too many for the night. The entire room was stuffy and warm, and Link desperately wanted to remove his heavy cloak, but he remembered his pointed ears beneath the hood, which might set anyone he needed to take him to Athens on edge, so reluctantly, he left it on.

Link made his way inside and took up a seat at a worn, dirty, wooden table in the middle of the room so that he could listen in on the conversations of the assorted groups of travelers, hoping his eavesdropping might turn up an opportunity to convince one of these traveling groups to take him. A pretty, young, blond-haired waitress passed his table, asking if he wanted anything to drink, but Link politely declined as he went back to his uninvited listening. As he listened, Link found that most of the groups seemed to be traveling to Athens, but their conversations didn't seem to bring with them an opportunity for Link to offer anything to the group that would convince them to take him. He didn't want to make a scene, going from table to table begging for passage, but much to Link's dismay, it was looking like he might have to.

That changed, however, as several people speaking nearby began to mention the danger of traveling, and worrying that their caravan of relics recovered from a nearby temple, centuries old, might fall under attack from bandits. Link turned his head and instantly listened far more intently to this conversation, hoping that this would be his opportunity to offer his services in a manner that wouldn't make him look foolish and foreign...even if he was foreign...and maybe a little bit foolish. As he listened, he learned that they did have a talented swordswoman that had done as Link was going to do, she had asked for passage to Athens in exchange for offering protection for the caravan, but they wanted more than one capable sword on their three-day journey.

That was exactly the kind of news that Link was looking for. He rose from his seat and made his way over to the eavesdropees. Eavesdropees? Was that even a word? Again Link affirmed to himself, he would never be an author. As Link approached them, their table fell silent as they turned in their seats to gaze on the youthful swordsman making his way, uninvited, over to their humble table. One of the three sitting at the table, a somewhat elderly man who looked in his early fifties, looked up from an old book, as he set what looked like a miniature statuette down on the table. He curiously stroked his short, gray beard as he examined Link as if appraising a piece of merchandise. The second man was wearing an outfit with garish colors and made of a much finer material than the tunics of his fellows at the table, marking him as some kind of wealthy merchant, or perhaps low-ranking nobility. The third man at the table was a large, heavy-set, middle-aged man with a short, golden-brown beard and thick, brown hair tinged with gray. This man folded his arms over his chest as Link approached, arching an eyebrow.

"Perhaps we speak too loud friends," the heavy-set man was the first to speak. In a deep, heavy voice, he continued. "because we seem to be attracting all kinds of people to come and join our conversations." Link was nervous for a minute, but his tension eased as the man chuckled and motioned at an empty chair next to him, "I merely jest, my friend, no need to look so worried. What are common rooms but places to listen to gossip? Please, sit down, join us."

Link smiled slightly, caught off guard, as he had at first expected a more confrontational reaction to his uninvited appearance. He dragged the chair out and sat down, trying his best to look casual and confident in front of the three men that may very well prove to be his best method of getting to Athens safely.

"Now then, what brings such a very, very green young man such as yourself to sit with a bunch of old codgers like us?"

The second man, older and more commonly-dressed, spoke up at this point, "Perhaps it is Master Kairn's tunic. I hear youngsters are attracted to bright colors." This statement elicited a bout of laughter from the two older men, though the brightly-dressed man, apparently named Kairn, shot them both a disapproving frown."

"Ah, don't mind us," the first man spoke again, "it seems the older we get, the more we laugh at things that aren't terribly funny. Now then, my name is Darsen. This here is Micah," he motioned to the eldest of the group, the man with the book, "And if you've been listening, the blindingly-dressed man over there would be Kairn. How might we be of service?"

Link introduced himself, his name bringing a frown to all the faces present, as if it didn't make much sense as a name, before he got down to why he was here. "Well, apparently you've already guessed," he began, "but yes, I was listening in on you three talking, and I was wondering if I might be of service to you. I know that you're wanting another few swords on your journey to Athens, I would be willing to offer you mine."

Darsen stroked his beard in thought, "Well, you're right, we kind of do need another blade or two. The roads aren't necessarily dangerous, but with what we're carrying, well..."

"If I might ask," Link interjected, "What are you carrying?"

"Treasures from the ruins of Schedar, an ancient civilization nearby," Micah answered, "We recently found the old ruins nearby, about a few miles from Scidon. They're an archeologist's dream! And I just so happen to be an archeologist."

"Indeed," Darsen muttered, "And if he dug up relics as well as he talked about them, he could have written enough history books for nine libraries."

"Have some respect for your elders, now," Micah said, chuckling lightly at Darsen's remark.

"Anyways," Darsen spoke unusually loudly, trying to emphasize that he wanted to get back on topic, "the point being we need another sword or two on our journey, yes. And you look competent. What are you asking for in return?"

Link shrugged lightly, "I just want passage to Athens, joining a group is safer than walking there alone."

Darsen and Micah frowned and looked at each other, an awkward silence passing over the table. Kairn, who had been silent for the most part, suddenly gave voice to the question that had undoubtedly been passing unspoken between the two. "Not much of a price. How do we know we can trust you?"

Link frowned, not exactly sure how to approached the question. "I don't know," he admitted, "How would you know if you could trust anyone else who was willing to help you in this role?"

Kairn shook his head, and began to speak in a somewhat condescending tone. "I trust people who desire money, I know their motives. You don't want anything, save safe passage. That makes me worry. Now I don't know what your motive is."

"I don't-" Link began, before Micah and Darsen peered over his shoulder and waved at someone behind Link's back. "Ah, over here!" Link didn't have time to look over his shoulder, whoever had joined them had instantly pulled up a seat to Link's right side.

"So then, what did I miss? And who is this...newcomer?" a hauntingly familiar feminine voice spoke. Link blinked in surprise when he recognized the voice, and his eyes went wide as he looked at the person who had just pulled up a chair right next to him. It was the same woman who had followed him and chased him halfway through Alcia. She met his eyes and, after an initial looked of surprise, arched an eyebrow as her face twisted into a mocking smirk, as if amused at the occurrence. Link silently cursed his luck. Of course, it was bound to happen. His good luck couldn't last forever, and he had miraculously managed to offer to join the group that this strange stalker woman was a part of.

Link suddenly wished that he had opted to go to China instead of Athens...

"Ah, Tanika, don't worry, you didn't miss much. Just business as usual. This young man here is Link," Darsen told her, "He wants to join our little group, doesn't want nothing but safe passage to Athens. Kairn here's being suspicious, doesn't seem to think we can trust him."

Tanika smirked as she looked at Link, "Oh, I don't know, he looks like the honest type. I say we bring him along," she said, never taking her eyes off Link, that frustrating smirk still set into her face, which was beginning to do more to simply irritate Link than fill him with an actual sense of foreboding.

Darsen seemed surprised. "Really? That's an...unusual sentiment out of you Tanika."

Tanika shrugged and looked at Darsen, "I say we bring him along, he's cheap, and he doesn't look like he'll eat to much, so he'll be cheap to feed as well. And he looks like he'd lag behind if we found ourselves running for our lives. Seems like a good deal to me."

Darsen looked at Micah, who shrugged, and then at Kairn, who frowned, then finally sighed and raised his hands in resignation at that thought. "All right, very well, he can come along," Kairn finally conceded. "But I'm not watching after him, you two old bats make sure he knows the rules."

If it weren't for Tanika, Link would have been sporting a broad grin on his face and probably spent time getting to better know these people.. Now he felt like he would have preferred an ulcer to having been accepted in their group. No doubt Tanika had her own reasons for allowing Link to come along. It would be easier than stalking him through a populated commerce center, after all. _'Great,' _Link thought to himself, _'How do I end up getting myself into these kinds of situations?'_

Darsen slapped Link on the back. "Well then lad, welcome to the group, may our time together be filled with joy and prosperity, and all that other formal stuff that I'm too lazy to go into." he said, getting falsely dramatic over the whole issue. And with that, Darsen ordered a round of ale for the entire table to celebrate their fortunes. Tanika, Darsen, and Micah continued conversing, but Link noticed that every now and then, Tanika would throw a rather smug glance his way. This woman was beginning to irritate him and she hadn't actually even addressed him directly yet.

"So Tanika," Micah said, setting the book he had been reading before Link came along back on the table, "did you find what you were looking for?"

"Oh yes," Tanika said, "In fact, you wouldn't believe it, I found it in one of the most unusual of places. I literally spent five hours trying to track it down and it pretty much ended up right in my lap! Rather funny that."

Link sipped his ale and made a face, he had never had alcohol before this point, and now he was pretty sure he knew why. The stuff wasn't really all that great. Actually, it was downright horrid. The group conversed for some time, and Link remained fairly silent, keeping to himself while weighing the options he had. He could retire for the night and try to slip away and find a new group, but finding a new group in a place as huge as Alcia would be difficult to do, and virtually impossible to do before the night was over. Plus, Tanika wasn't likely to let him slip through her grasp again.

Link decided to remain at the table for the time being, interjecting every now and then into the conversation so that the subject wouldn't turn to his awkward silence, but he never spoke to Tanika at all. The subject soon turned to travel plans. It was a three day journey to Athens, and they weren't stopping in any populated areas on the way. Link and Tanika would ride in the single wagon that the group had, and so would Kairn. Micah and Darsen would be in charge of driving the wagon itself. If all went well, they would be in Athens in two days, better than what Link had been told to expect.

Over time, the large crowd of patrons of The Last Resort thinned, until only the group of five remained. Just as the last drunk patron was escorted out by the burly innkeeper and his son, Darsen rose slowly, everyone at the table following suit.

"Well everyone, it's getting late, and we have to leave early, so we'd best retire for the night." At these words, Micah and Tanika headed upstairs.

"Kairn will pay for your room there lad," Darsen said as the wealthy merchant made his way over to the innkeeper and started shelling out coins to the man. "After all, it's the least we can do, since you're doing this for little more than passage."

Link expressed his thanks, but Darsen shook his head, "No, thank you. The roads are dangerous these days, it's sad we have to hire a bit of muscle to make sure we get from point A to point B alive. Fortunately, Kairn here handles most of those expenses."

Link looked at Kairn, who was writing something down for the innkeep at the time, then looked back to Darsen. Suddenly, a very peculiar thought came to Link's mind, and he had to satisfy his curiosity. "You said you and Micah are archaeologists, right?" Link asked.

"Yep," Darsen replied, the merriment in his voice tempered by the weariness of fatigue, "although Micah's the professional, it's more an interest of mine than an actual job. Why do you ask, if you already knew that?"

"I was just wondering," Link started, "What is Kairn with you for?"

Darsen nodded, laughing slightly, "You're a shrewd one. Here's essentially how it works. I do the legwork, I find out where the ruins are, and I lead our little party into them. Micah appraises whatever we find. Kairn himself actually is in charge of selling them. He's a master at the art that is money. Which means he's also a master at convincing both of us to give him the largest cut, even though he doesn't do all that much work." Darsen smiled a wry smile, "But he has the connections to sell these things, we'd be rather lost without him, so we let him do as he pleases, we still get by decently. Does that answer your question?"

Link nodded, his curiosity sufficiently satisfied. At the moment, Kairn walked out from behind Link, pressing a room key into his hand. "I'm also in charge of the finances, hiring the porters, the escorts, etcetera. I'm also really good for finding when people go talking at me behind my back," Kairn said with an accusing tone. "Aren't I, Darsen?"

"Ah, it wasn't anything harmful Kairn, ease up a bit. I was just indulging a curious young man, that's all," Darsen said, waving his hand dismissively. "You know Kairn, it's too bad that you can't use all that wealth to buy you someone who will remove that stick from your butt."

"No," Kairn said, "but I might if I didn't have to shell it out to homeless parasites like you." The reply, however, was sent with a thin smile that suggested that Kairn did, in fact, have at least a small sense of humor. Then Kairn turned to Link, shaking his head slightly. "Your room is upstairs, two doors down. Get some rest, I'm not paying you to fall asleep when we get ambushed." At this, Link nodded, bowing thankfully, but instead of going upstairs, he excused himself from the inn, claiming that he had something to take care of.

Link stepped outside and made his way around behind the inn. As he walked, Link entered into a small garden behind the inn. A large oakwood tree stood in the middle of the small field of grass, its thick branches swain lightly in the gentle ocean breeze that blew in from the sea where Link had first caught his glimpse of Alcia. Thick hedges effectively fenced off the inn from other establishments nearby, and the green grass underneath was soft and comfortable. Link looked up, beholding a stunning view of the star-flecked night sky. There was an extraordinarily beautiful full moon out, the bright beams shining down on Link and illuminating the entire garden with brilliant silver light.

Link finished taking in the scene and sighed, as he put the room key that Kairn had given to him in his belt pouch. Despite the fact that he was rather tired, he knew that he would not be sleeping in that room. Minutes after Link had stopped just outside of the shadow of the great tree, Link felt, rather than heard, the grass rustle under the feet of the person approaching him. Quickly, with trained reflexes honed over countless battles, Link turned swiftly on his heels, wheeling around to face the person who had followed him into this beautiful place. In one, smooth motion, the Hylian warrior drew forth the Master Sword from its ornate sheathe, the magnificence of the weapon amplified by the moonlight which danced across its blade, the silver rays seeming to amplify the blue aura that constantly hung about it, and giving it a beautiful, pale blue glow. As Link leveled his weapon at the intruder, he was not at all surprised when his eyes fell on Tanika. He was surprised, however, when he noticed her weapon was not drawn.

"What do you want from me?" Link demanded harshly, his eyes fiercely staring into hers with a look that showed he was not going to put up with games.

Tanika raised her slender hands up and shook her head, taking a single step towards Link. "Easy there, believe it or not, I'm actually not your enemy...unless you really want me to be, that is."

"That doesn't answer my question," Link said curtly, obviously not reassured by her statement at all.

"All right, all right. Well, what I _want_, is to speak with you," Tanika said, brushing one hand through her hair as she folded her arms across her chest and took up a surprisingly relaxed pose, staring back at Link.

"About what?" Link snapped, his sword still unwaveringly pointed at her. "Speak sense, I am not in the mood for word games."

Tanika stared back at Link, now looking very serious. "I was following you because I needed to talk to you. Its about something I found, something that lead me to you. Something which you no doubt have some vested interest in, yourself."

Link frowned, "What in the world could you have to talk to me about that you would need to stalk me and then chase me halfway across Alcia?"

Tanika was silent for a moment, but then soon reached down to her belt, her fingers dipping into a small, leather pouch. When they came back out, they were holding an unmistakably familiar object. It was a small, jagged piece of steel, with a familiar, dull red glow about it which seemed to choke out the moonlight from the air immediately around it...

Tanika possessed a shard of Soul Edge.


	5. Innocent Blood

**Soul Calibur 2**

**No Sword Forged Stronger**

Chapter 5: Innocent Blood

A hush fell over the glade, pierced only occasionally by the chirping of night insects calling out to their mates. The light of the moon spilled down onto the glade below, still dancing majestically across the beautiful, polished surface of the Blade of Evil's Bane. The aura of the shard that Tanika held forth seemed to deaden the air around it, for the breeze ceased to be where its aura glowed, and the light of the moon, though certainly brighter, seemed drowned out in the dull, red glow of Soul Edge's fragmented piece.

Link stood rooted to the spot in absolute silence for several moments, his mind reeling from the number of questions that had come to mind when Tanika had produced that shard. Slowly, Link lowered the Master Sword and relaxed his stance ever so slightly. This action eased a tension around Tanika that Link had not noticed only until she too, relaxed. For all her posturing, she didn't seem to be any less anxious about this meeting than Link himself was.

"Thank you," Tanika said after Link pointed his blade downward, even though he did not sheathe it.

"How did you know?" Link asked, his voice no less stern than when he had asked his earlier questions, but noticeably less apprehensive than before, when he believed that Tanika wished him harm.

"What?" Tanika responded, perplexed at the question, but understanding quickly dawned in her eyes. "Oh, how did I know about your shard?"

"I actually meant how did you know I was interested in them, but I wouldn't object if you wanted to tell me how you know I actually had one of them in my possession. I haven't told anyone that since I arrived."

Tanika nodded and held her hands up almost apologetically, "All right, I'll get to that in a minute."

"Talk fast."

"All right, calm down. I was due to meet with Xand today, I wanted to talk with him, see if he'd be willing to change his mind. Since he still had it when I left, I assume you didn't have any luck either."

Link's stony expression actually made his next set of words come out much harsher than he had intended, "Any luck with what?"

Tanika looked puzzled, as if there was a sudden realization that she and Link were on completely different pages. "Err.....with getting his shard. Isn't that why you were on board his ship?"

Link shook his head, "I was just looking for passage to Alcia. I wasn't aware he had a shard with him."

"Oh," Tanika muttered blandly, "Well, for your information, he's got a shard with him. And he refuses to part with it. I've known he's had one for a while, and I figured this was the chance to strike a bargain with him for it. He didn't go for it."

"This still doesn't answer my question. How did you know about my shard, and why were you and that crew member following me?" Link pressed.

Tanika ran a hand through her long brown hair and fiddled with the shard in her fingers before answering Link. "Actually, I didn't know you had one at first. See that guy I was with, Vaughn, ugly brute....anyways, he overheard me talking with Xand, when he told me that some stranger in green had boarded earlier and was paying with gems. Now I assume he's talking about you. We struck a deal, if I helped him.....relieve you, of some of these jewels, he'd help me get the shard from Xand." She noticed Link beginning to tense again at this, and quickly moved to reassure him. "Relax, I don't intend on going through with this any further. Anyways, after we started following you, I felt my shard start to resonate. That's how I knew you had one."

"Resonate?" Link questioned.

"Yes," Tanika said, "The shards of Soul Edge resonate when they're around one another. You must have known that, your shard was never more than a hundred yards away from Xand's in any direction."

Link shook his head, "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. But that may just be because I always kept it in my travel bag, separate from my other stuff."

"Do you have it with you now?" Tanika asked.

"Yeah," and Link reached into the small bag slung over his shoulder, withdrawing the shard he possessed. It was then that Link noticed the dull red glow on his shard was barely noticeable, and much, much more faint than that of Tanika's, who also brought her shard back out.

"See, like that." Tanika said.

Link waited, then shook his head when she said that, because his shard wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. "I don't see what you're talking about.

Tanika blinked, a perplexed expression shooting across her features. "That's.....odd," she said, stepping toward Link, moving her shard closer.

Only when her shard was almost touching Link's, did Link feel even a slight vibration, as barely noticeable as the aura it had. He arched an eyebrow and looked at her curiously. "You would have had to have been within inches of me to feel that."

Tanika shook her head, a thousand thoughts flashing through her mind. "No, mine's been vibrating this whole time from across the glade, even from within the inn. Yours......is it weaker, or something?"

Link shrugged, "I wouldn't know, I've never had another shard to compare it to, but from my past experiences with touching it, it's plenty powerful on its own."

Tanika looked perplexed. "I really don't understand it. The shards normally react, violently, when brought close to one another like this...." A silence fell between the two as Tanika suddenly shrugged and pocketed her shard. "Oh well, it's a mystery. Anyways, look, we're both looking for the shards, right? We've both got one, we're both heading in the same direction. There's no reason we can't help each other out while we're doing it, is there?"

Link rolled the thoughts over in his mind, but he frowned. "And when we've found them all? How do I know I can trust you?"

Tanika sighed in frustration, "You CAN'T, okay!" the swordswoman snapped. "Is that what you wanted to hear? Just like I can't trust you to run off in the middle of the night or kill me in my sleep if we do this. But from what I've heard about the shard, I think it's a bit to risky for ANYONE to do on their own. You obviously don't know that much about it. I do. On the other hand, I need more muscle than what I've got with me."

"You had Vaughn." Link muttered, but it was almost more of a joke.

Tanika rolled her eyes at that comment, "I'd prefer it if the muscle I have with me has some brains attached to them. So how about it? I have information, and we can watch each other's backs in a fight."

Link fell silent for the longest time, playing the risks over in his head. On the one hand, she could stab him in the back and run off. On the other hand, she didn't come out here looking for a fight, and this would be the best chance she got. This would mean he didn't have to abandon his hopes of going with Darsen's group to Athens, and furthermore, he'd be working in tandem with someone else who had at least some knowledge of Soul Edge, which would be infinitely more than he had. In the end, Link finally decided that the benefits outweighed the risks.

"All right. We work together," He said, something of a note of resignation in his voice.

Tanika sported a wide grin at that, "Perfect, then we go tonight!"

"Go?" Link inquired, "What do you mean, go? Go where?"

Tanika rolled her eyes, "To get Xand's shard, of course."

Link stared at her, "I hope you didn't agree to this because you somehow thought I could convince Xand to just hand it over, because even if I hadn't severely upset him before, I don't think he'd go for it on his best of days."

"Of course he won't, there won't be any convincing involved. We're going to steal it." Tanika said, which to Link who was just a tad on the innocent side, was not what he'd consider an obvious solution.

Link was instantly starting to rethink this alliance, Tanika was bound to get him in a lot of trouble. "I don't like the idea of being chased all the way through Alcia by the city watch," he said, to which Tanika chuckled.

"You think Xand's friends with the guard, here? No, he's as much of a rogue as they come. Once we're off his ship, we should be okay."

"I don't like it."

Tanika sighed in full-on exasperation, "Listen, I don't much like being some kind of thief either, but we NEED those shards, the more of them we have, the closer we get to some answers. Now I'm going, I don't know if you want to come with me or not...."

"All right, all right," Link said, following quickly after her....

It didn't take much time for Link and Tanika to make their way back to the Rhine Maiden, as Tanika knew the streets and where she was going, unlike Link when he first arrived. The traveled mostly in silence, but as the ports drew into view, Link couldn't help but ponder a question that he didn't have the presence of mind to ask before he agreed to this.

"I don't suppose you have some kind of plan?"

Tanika shook her head, once more, in exasperation, "Of COURSE I have a plan, the shard will almost certainly be kept in Xand's quarters, first we need to slip around the guard patrols on the docks, but that shouldn't be too difficult."

"What about the crew?" Link asked as they crept quickly, yet quietly, through one of the many litter-strewn alleyways of the docks.

"Pfft, drunk, like their captain certainly is as well," Tanika snorted with obvious derision, "The ship will be empty, save for maybe one or two, but they shouldn't be hard to slip around."

It didn't take them much effort at all to get onto the vessel. The docks were massive, and the guard patrols could only cover so much, and they boarded the Rhine Maiden from the loading plank, just casually walking onto it like they owned it. No guards, no questions.

Once on-deck, they headed immediately to the Captains quarters downstairs. Once below-decks, they slipped into a storage room as one of the more dutiful sailors was still on-board, awake, and sober, though clearly wishing that he was not. He was doing paperwork, and was currently rather focused on checking the food stores on the ship, so he didn't notice Tanika and Link slip right behind him into Xand's room.

Quietly closing the door, Tanika quickly joined Link in searching the place for the shard. It didn't quite take them so long as they thought it might. Checking the desk drawer, the pocket of his spare clothes, a small locker, and other obvious hiding spots, they found nothing at all until Link, in a sudden thought, opted to check Xand's liquor cabinet.

And there it was. Fitted into the top of a small bottle, as a cork, was a jagged, broken shard of Soul Edge, likely put there in one of Xand's drunken stupors. It emitted a strong red glow, and Link was hesitant to touch it. Interestingly enough, so was Tanika, who instead, picked up the whole bottle and slipped it into her pouch.

"Can't have one of us having a seizure here," she said, apparently as aware of the effects of the shard as Link was. As soon as she tied her bag shut, Link and Tanika immediately hastened out of the room and up the stairs onto the deck.

And Link again cursed his luck. It didn't seem a whole lot would be going smoothly for him today. There was Xand, and four of his crew, standing there on the deck, as much steel in their eyes as was in their hands.

"Well well well," Xand said, a wistful smile on his face, as if he was almost sad about what was about to happen, "You really had me taken there, for a moment, Link. But I should have known better than to trust you."

Link and Tanika both drew their weapons. They weren't stupid, Link was afraid he'd have to fight Xand even before he stepped off the ship. Now he was completely certain they weren't avoiding a fight here.

"How did you know...?" Tanika asked, and Xand chuckled,

"Tanika, dear, you're slipping. We've been up in the crow's nest the whole time, we saw you steal onto the ship, and we merely climbed back down once you went below...hasty, hasty, dear girl."

"I'm surprised you're sober enough to make it up and down without a broken bone or four," Tanika quipped, which elicited a low growl from Xand.

"You steal onto my ship, you steal my secrets, and you steal my shard.....I think no one will notice a couple of bodies in the harbor until I am long gone," Xand said, and, making a motion to his four crew members, rushed forward to attack Link. Two others, one of which Link recognized as Vaughn, also came at him, while the other two circled in on Tanika.

Link didn't want to get separated from her, but Xand gave little choice as his sabre swung. Link raised his shield, and the attacker's bounced harmlessly off, allowing Link to take a swipe with his sword at Xand. It wouldn't be that easy, it seemed, as Xand agilely leaped out of the way, and was replaced with a member of his crew, a large, black-bearded man with a hefty axe, who dealt a heavy downward blow in Link's direction.

Link, however, was agile in his own right, and leapt aside, causing the sailor's axe to get stuck in the ship.. As the angry man struggled to free his weapon, Link quickly spun around to catch his third attacker, Vaughn, and deflecting the incoming cutlass with his shield before dealing a harsh blow to the back of the man's skull with the hilt of his blade. For all Vaughn's talk of how he was going to butcher Link if he got in his way one more time, it must have been very embarrassing that some nineteen-year-old young man took out a hardened, brutish sailor with a single (Not to mention non-lethal) swing....

Link maneuvered around the man with the stuck axe as Xand moved back on the attack. Deflecting Xand's attack with his sword, Link retaliated with an upward strike, but it took almost no effort for Xand to, once again, leap out of the way.

"Are you toying with me, boy?!" Xand said, angrily, leaving Link wondering what in the world he was talking about. He was certainly not toying with him.....

The man who had his axe stuck abandoned his attempt to free his buried weapon, and grabbed Link from behind, wrapping his massive arms around Link's slender frame. Xand saw this opportunity to attack, and his sabre flashed through the air, in a downward arc at Link's skull.

Link, in reaction to the massive bear hug, backed forcefully up into the wall, both to strike his attacker against the wall and get him to release his hold, and to avoid Xand's attack, both of which he did surprisingly, if unintentionally, well. He officially couldn't say that nothing was going his way....

The base of his attacker's skull slammed into the pointed haft of the axe still stuck in the ship's planks at head height, and the man blacked out, immediately releasing Link from his hold, though Link hadn't intended to do that at all. Still, this was not the first fight where he had gained the upper hand by luck alone.

Link had managed to steal a glance over at Tanika, to note that she had already dealt with one of her attackers, and seemed to have more than a slight advantage against the second. He didn't have much time to make sure she was all right, however, as Xand swung twice at Link with blinding speed, each blow ringing off Link's shield with little effect. The third strike from Xand was met with a counter-swing from Link, whose weapon had significantly more weight to it. Not expecting the shock from the blade, Xand's cutlass flew out of his hands into the harbor.

Growling, Xand leapt away to a safe distance, and pulled a knife while Link ran over to Tanika, who had gracefully parried her attacker's swing, and Link abruptly bull-rushed the man with his shield, shoving him against the railing of the ship and getting the man tangled up in the riggings.

Tanika took over from there, and with a neat sword slice, managed to collapse the riggings. Not all of it, but enough that the man was soon tangled up in them and unable to move effectively. Her boot heel quickly rendered the man unconscious.

"I'll impale you with your own spine!" Xand shouted as he rushed Link, who saw that his dagger strike was going to come low. If he remained in his position, Xand would certainly have used his free hand to knock Link's shield out of the way, and rammed the blade into his gut. So he crouched low and forced his shield towards Xand, which caught the crew captain by surprise and stumbled headlong into Link's shield. The force of his charge would not let him stop, and he tumbled gracelessly forward. Link guided his shield over his head as Xand fell on top of him, pushing up so the captain would not merely land on top of him, and rather anti-climactically, dumped the murderous man over the railing into the chill waves of the Alcian harbor.

After taking into account that the fight was now over, and having to fight back the urge to laugh as Xand was sputtering frantic curse from below, Link looked at Tanika, "Are you okay?" He asked, worriedly, and he got an angry glare in return.

"Why did you hold back?!" She snapped at him, which confused him, "You could have gotten us both killed!"

As Link stammered, confusedly over the yelling curses of Xand, Tanika shook her head, "No, not here, we'll attract the guard's attention. We have to leave. Now."

Even as stunned as he was by the turn of events, Link still agreed, and with their prize safely tucked away, Link and Tanika rushed away from the harbor, and disappeared onto the Alcian streets.

They traveled entirely in silence, Tanika glowering at Link any time their eyes met, and Link figured it best not to press the issue until they were safely back at the Last Resort. When they arrived back at the inn, there was no one left in the common room. Late as it was, Link and Tanika must have been the only ones awake, excusing the innkeeper, who had not seemed to go to bed quite yet, and looked at their exhausted looks and slightly jumpy expressions with some mild curiosity, but asked no questions.

"Well, it's been an exciting night watching you display your blatant battle incompetence," Tanika said harshly, "but we're leaving early tomorrow, and I have to get my sleep. I suggest you do too."

Before Link could ask any questions, and after she pulled harshly away when he tried to grab her shoulder and stop her, Tanika stormed up the stairs and out of sight.

Link, still stunned by everything that happened, stared after her in mild disbelief. He thought he had handled himself quite well in that fight, what in the world was she talking about?! But she didn't seem open to a game of twenty questions, and he wasn't keen on sleeping in front of his new....employers. So with an exasperated sigh, he made his way up the stairs, and into his humble room.

This night, he had a room all to himself. Taking little time to stow all his equipment, Link once again found himself exhausted, yet strangely unable to sleep. A lot of strange things had happened. He was pretty sure Xand's possession of the shard had explained his unusual turn of hostility and suspicion, but a few other questions were left unanswered. Why was Tanika's shard vibrating, when Link's was not. Looking into his travel bag, Link did notice that the glow on the shard was slightly stronger. Not much, but the aura was slightly more noticeable, more aggressive in its flare, and it seemed still to drink in the light around it. Link, however, was not interested in any more bouts of strange visions, and left the shard be, tying his small pouch shut before relaxing into bed and drifting off into sleep.

* * *

Link awoke to the sound of knocking on his door, and Kairn's harsh voice telling him that they didn't have all day, and it was about time that he woke up. Links sleep hadn't been too terribly restful. Though he slept well, he still felt sore and had an unusually hard time getting going this morning. Nonetheless, get going he did, as he slipped on his chainmail, tunic, sword, shield, bracers, and other gear before heading downstairs, groggily rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He also made a note to himself to polish that chainmail next chance he got, after that night in the rain at Tarmel, it was beginning to rust.

Everyone else was already packed. Darsen and Micah were chatting idly, while Kairn looked expectantly up the stairs at Link, tapping his foot impatiently. "Are you quite ready yet? Everyone else was packed and ready an hour ago."

"Sorry," Link apologized almost reflexively, "Yes, I'm ready to go."

"Splendid!" Darsen said in his usual, loud, cheery voice, "Then let's go! I'm eager to get these trinkets to the museums in Athens, almost as much as I am to have Kairn stuck in the back of a wagon where he can keep his usual morning temper in a convenient, out-of-the-way place!"

Kairn shot an icy glare at Darsen, but said nothing.

And so the group made their way to the stables. This wasn't the first time Link had been around wagons, and managed to help hooking up the animals. When everything was in order, Micah and Darsen took up the reins, while Tanika and Link clambered into the back of the wagon where they found Kairn, ironically enough, taking a nap.

Link wanted to smack the man upside the head.

The ride started rather abruptly, resulting in Link, who had never ridden in a wagon before, pitching forward and planting his face into the wagonbed, which elicited a laugh from Tanika, and a mild stir in his rest from Kairn.

After picking himself up, and massaging his forehead, he turned to his fellow.....he guessed he was a mercenary of sorts, now, wasn't he?"So, explain something to me Tanika," Link said in a low voice, so as not to wake Kairn, "What in the world did I do to irritate you so much last night?!"

Tanika frowned at Link, took a careful look at Kairn, then and then, "I don't know who taught you how to fight," she hissed back, "but you NEVER, EVER hold back in a fight like that again. He would have killed you without a second though!"

"What in the world makes you think I was holding back?!" Link snapped back, quietly, but angrily nonetheless.

"I saw you hesitate when you deflected Xand's attack, your counter-swing could easily have taken his head off, but you didn't. You hesitated. And it could have gotten you, and consequently, me, killed!"

Link opened his mouth to respond, but from the way Tanika turned her head to the side, this was no longer a welcome line of conversation. But he was absolutely certain he didn't hesitate.....or....did he? Suddenly, his recollection of the fight wasn't so clear. He was no longer exactly sure how everything had played out, or even the order it did so. Did he knock out Vaughn, or the man with the axe first?

"So tell me," Tanika said, breaking him out of his line of thought, "why are we...or rather you, going to Athens?"

Link didn't see a whole lot of point in lying, she had some of the shards, so he'd either need her help, or he'd need to betray her, and Link wasn't very good at backstabbing people, no matter how good the reason. Convincing himself it was necessary to steal Xand's shard had been hard enough on his conscience.

"There's a man there, apparently he's absolutely insane, but they say he once wielded Soul Edge. If so, I have to talk with him."

"Oh!" Tanika exclaimed, "You're talking about ole Geraldo," she said, shaking her head. "Good luck getting to see him, he's tended to every day by some Athenian priestess who does not much like people interrogating some crazy old man. Trust me, I've tried. You'll get shown the door, and if you come back, you get shown some steel. That woman isn't half as gentle as she looks once you've pissed her off."

Link groaned. Great, but he should have known it simply wouldn't have been as simple as walking up to a crazy man's house and asking to be invited in for tea. Actually, when put that way, even that didn't sound like a terribly simple task.....

* * *

The trip to Athens was....incredibly uneventful. Link spent most of the time sleeping in the wagon or gathering firewood, or trading barbs with Tanika and Kairn. As such, his three-day trip seemed to take far longer, and he arrived with an inexplicable soreness in his back.. No bandits attacked, the most exciting thing that happened was he had to help push the wagon out of a ditch and replace a broke axle.

When they arrived at the gates of Athens, Link was again, awed by the incredible size of the city. He was also taken in by how different from Alcia it was. Though they were both large, both seemingly military bastions, it seemed to have a different...'tone' to it, as it were. Dozens of shrines lined the various streets, whether small pools to ask the blessings of the gods, or massive temples with dozens of worshipers. This place also somehow seemed smaller than Alcia, though in fact, it was even larger. Perhaps that was why. The streets were wider, and this place appeared less of a business hub. All the buildings still seemed to be made of the same white material that the Alcian buildings had been made from, however.....

"You can just drop us off here," Tanika called up to the front of the wagon, and Darsen reined in the horses, bring the wagon to an unusually jarring halt. This time it was Kairn's turn to faceplant into the floorboards.

"Aye," Micah called back over the frustrated ranting of an embarrassed and rudely-awakened Kairn, "you two have been plenty of pleasant company, we'll be sad to see ya leave."

"I won't!" Kairn chimed in. He seemed to be in an unusually bad temper this morning.

And with that, Link and Tanika jumped out of the back of the wagon, said their farewells, and started down the wide streets to Geraldo's house.

"Okay," Tanika said, "I don't want the woman who cares for him to recognize me and immediately cause problems for you, so I'll be waiting down here at the end of the street, it's the fifth house up, on the left. You can't miss it.....well, knowing YOU, you could, but still...."

Link rolled his eyes and sighed at Tanika's teasing, before making his way up the street.....

* * *

It had been a longer day than usual, that was for certain. Rothion had almost gotten into a fight with a man at his forge, Cassandra had been sneaking around the forbidden areas of Eurydice Shrine, and Sophitia had been running around after her children all day, who had been even more of a handful than usual lately. And now she tended to Geraldo.

Sophitia had always been kind, gentle, and compassionate, but this was the last place she wanted to be today. Everything had just been piling up on her. Maybe....no, she was not one to put things off on others, and her sister had her own life to live. Sophitia had taken up this duty, not Cassandra. To ask her to do this would not be fair.

And so she cleaned, and she made the man's meals while he muttered to himself in the corner, scribbling madly on a piece of parchment, something only he could understand, for surely to the rest of the world, it only looked like doodles, though she could occasionally pick out certain orderly shapes. A set of triangles here, what looked like a gigantic, monstrous boar, a tall, thin woman with dark skin and slender, somewhat exotic, inhuman features.....other times it would just be scribbles that would make a four year old with a set of painting oils green with envy.

Sometimes Geraldo would be coherent, normal even. He would cook his own foods and fuss about the mess he had made in his insanity and ask Sophitia how her day had been. Indeed, when he was like that, Sophitia enjoyed the old man's company. He was wise and compassionate and friendly, if a bit too fatherly. Though that may have been expected, seeing has he was some sixty-odd years older than her.

The visitors however....ugh. They never stopped Once, every few weeks they would come by. Some, such as that Daren fellow, or the young asian girl she saw several months ago, would politely understand that this was a man in pain, and it was not just to merely show up and have people interrogate him day in and day out. Others, such as that white-haired english lady, were not so easily shown the door, and only left on threat of steel and guards.

And so, with her naturally sour disposition towards such selfish visits, and considering that her day had been more harrying than usual, when the rapping of knuckles sounded on the door, Sophitia reacted in an.....unusually harsh manner. Having set Geraldo's stew down next to him, she stormed over to the door and wrenched it open with such force one might have thought she was trying to tear it off its hinges.

She came face-to-face with a young man, garbed all in green, and inwardly groaned. Not ANOTHER one, not today, she was so tired of these people just wanting to use this man in their mad hunt for a sword that should never have seen daylight. She only wished she could persuade them they were chasing after fairy-tales, and never dared tell them the truth. She couldn't send any of these young fools with thoughts of heroism in their head to go charging to their death....and worse, the consumption of their very soul.

Oh how she hated that cursed blade, and all the misery it had brought her and countless others.

Not surprisingly, she didn't greet the man politely. "Just what is it you want, stranger?" She snapped angrily, already knowing the answer.

"I need to see a man named Geraldo," he responded. He seemed unsurprised at her hostility.

"Am I to assume it is about the sword?" She interrogated.

He only nodded.

"Then you are as countless others, completely unwelcome here. This man is not just a tool to use in your hunt! He is ill, and in need of care and compassion, something which you surely have not come to gi-"

"Sophitia, my dear, please let the young man in."

Sophitia was....shocked, and stopped her passionate defense of the old man mid-sentence. Every time Geraldo had a visitor, they always wanted to talk about Soul Edge, and such talk ALWAYS upset Geraldo, sending him into gibbering mumbling and upset, angry rants, and scribbling even more feverishly on his pad, the only activity which seemed to bring him any comfort. All of this from leftovers of bad memories. This was the first time Geraldo actually welcomed a visitor into his home of his own accord....

"I.." Sophitia started, confused, and unsure how to process this, but it was his home, and he seemed coherent at the moment, "Very well stranger," she said, stepping out of the doorway and motioning the visitor inside, "But please," Sophitia said this next bit in a hushed, but pleading, voice, "I know you are here to ask about Soul Edge, but keep your questions gentle. He has had....scars countless from his time with that blade....in ways that you seekers of a blade of heroes cannot possibly understand."

Much to her surprise, he gave a reassuring smile, "I understand completely," he said, and went over to sit with Geraldo. Not sure if she was welcome in the conversation, Sophitia hovered around the door, but before she could quite excuse herself out of the room, Geraldo called,

"Sophitia, kind dear, would you please make me and my guest some tea?"

Sophitia only returned a warm smile and nodded, "Of course," she said, and gently excused herself into the kitchen. At least it was something to do while the stranger here lingered, she wouldn't leave until he had, and until she had made sure Geraldo was settled for the day.

* * *

Link had been expected to be greeted by some matronly housekeeper, or old lady. When the door was answered by a stunningly beautiful woman, he was more than a little caught off guard. That surprise was completely overshadowed by the surprise of the fact that the man invited him into the room, after the woman had spent so much time trying to keep him away.

"Sit down, sit down, young one," the man motioned to a nearby chair, "Surely you have much to discuss if you've risked such a long trip to get here."

"I'm sure I'm not the only one who's come a long way to get here," Link said.

"No, no, of course not," Geraldo replied, "But I sense something special about you, _feel_ it, with my very soul. And I also sense that your journey to this place has been....longer, and more jarring for you than most."

Link stared, taking in this man's appearance. An old, wrinkled face with tightly-drawn lips, and a full head of grey hair. He was covered in what was likely re-washed dirty clothes. Though as much as this man soiled them, Link would never have guessed that Sophitia actually brought him a fresh change of clothes every week. This man looked every bit the insane hermit Daren had told him about, not...some kind of seer. Yet with what he said, Link couldn't quite shake the feeling this man knew more than was humanly posssible. Did this man know where he came from? How could he?

"But let us get down to the reason you are here," Geraldo said, "You are here about the sword, yes?"

Link nodded, "Yes, this sword, it..." he paused, unsure how much to say, or if the woman in white could hear from the other room, but considering that this man actually held the sword, and the damage it did to his mind, it was likely that he would understand when so many did not. "it threatens everything I love," he said.

"Yes, yes it does," Geraldo said, his gentle voice becoming unusually grave, "and you are one of the wise, or lucky, few who know that."

Link looked at him, his first source of real answers in a long time. "What....IS Soul Edge, anyways?"

The old man's features took on a haunted look, Link was almost sure that the blue color in his eyes faded to grey. "It is....death. Destruction," he said shakily, "The pure embodiment of all our greatest fears and nightmares. It is hell forged to steel."

Link was about to ask him, but something held him silent, and he waited for the man to continue to speak.

"Those were dark days for me.....when I found the blade, I was so drunk in the glory of my success.....that I did not even realize the madness sinking in until it was upon me," he said, running an aged finger through his grey, shoulder-length hair. Tears started in his eyes, and his forehead began to sweat, "Even now, even with the sanity that has come to me with your arrival.....it is agony to speak of.....I destroyed everything I held dear with my own hands, felt my wife's lifeblood, the very woman I sought the sword for, drain itself upon my hands....and then I destroyed the lives of countless others...."

The man fell silent, and for the longest time, Link did not realize that he was holding his breath, but the man was no longer talking, and Link began his next question. What he did next, was dangerous, but he needed answers. Slowly reaching into his bag, he pulled out the shard.

"Then, this here is...." Link began,

"Yes..." the man said, not reacting in terror like Link thought he might had, "That is a shard of my torment."

Link frowned in sympathy.....how could so many believe that this blade was anything but death given form?

"I.....why does it..." he began, not knowing quite how to phrase his next question.

"Why does it hurt you?" The man answered, to which Link only nodded. "Because you are opposed to it. It cannot lure you with temptations of riches and power and glory, as it did I....if only I had your wisdom when I quested......no, instead, it seeks to break your will."

"Do you know.....if this shard could end up, in say.....a world other than our own?" He asked, to which Geraldo responded which solidified Link's suspicions.

"You mean YOUR world? Oh, do not be surprised," Geraldo reassured Link with a knowing smile, "Soul Edge never truly left me, lest it would have taken the madness with it. I am linked to the blade, and the blade is linked to the shards, even still. And the shards linked to it......a powerful battle took place, once, and the blade was shattered, its shards scattered to all corners of the world.....and to those beyond."

"How?" Was Link's simple response.

"The blade feeds off of hate, and hate knows no one world. Reality to Soul Edge is different. Where there is evil, destruction, despair....surely, the shards, in their search back to Soul Edge, will gravitate to the areas where its effects are felt most strongly. But the hatred of men can rival even the hatred of Soul Edge at times.....and the shards can get....lost."

"But why does it seem to only have power at certain times?" Link continued.

"The answer to that, is two-fold." the man said, rising slowly, motioning for Link to do the same. "The simplest answer is because, although the shard in of itself still carries with it, mind-shattering power, it is separate, but a fraction of the blade.....and its power is consumed quickly...."

"And the other reason?" Link pressed.

And the man smiled. "The other reason," he said, "Is the reason I am sane with your arrival.....do you remember, on the Rhine Maiden, how the shard's attack was suddenly silenced?"

Link nodded, this man's link to the shards no longer troubling him with revelations no one else should have.

"What was different there, from the other two times, where the shard's attack only ended when its power was expended?"

Link thought long and hard. One of the incidents took place in Ordon, the other in the room at the Silver Oak, and finally, the Rhine Maiden.....but he could think of nothing that changed with it at all...

"Do you see the shard's weakness, as it is now?" The man pressed, to which Link nodded. The shard did seem to have changed, and its aura was barely visible, and without a close examination, it appeared to simply be twisted shard of metal.

"The answer to your question is the blade on your back," he said, pointing to the master sword. "Draw it forth."

Of course! Link had actually had the Master Sword on him when he grasped the shard on the Rhine Maiden. In the inn, it was leaning on the wall, and in Ordon, it wasn't there at all! Of course the Master Sword would be completely opposed to the force of the shards!

With this revelation, Link drew the blade forth, expecting it to glow with a brilliant blue aura. It did not, however.

"The shard's diminished strength requires little reaction from your blade," Geraldo said, "But put the shard on it and you will see what I mean."

And so Link did, slowly, hesitantly at first, touching the shard to his blade. Suddenly the aura of the shard flared, and the Master Sword flashed a brilliant blue glow. It took only seconds, however, before the shard of Soul Edge was completely engulfed in the Master Sword's aura, and its aura dissipated entirely.

"So.....the Master Sword can destroy the evil in the shards?" Link asked.

Geraldo frowned at Link's question, almost as if he wasn't entirely certain, aand he began to pace, and Link began to notice, that he was getting.....almost twitchy. Jumpy. Anxious. Perhaps his insanity was returning?

"Yes.....and no." He said. "Your blade cannot turn that shard into simple steel....it is too closely linked with Soul Edge. As long as that cursed blade exists, those shards can never be truly silenced. Look, even now, its power is returning, but ever so slightly...." he said, and Link had to take a double-take at the shard he was holding. The man was right....the shard's aura was back. Again, so faint that if Link didn't focus entirely on it, it was unnoticeable, and even when he did, it was a mere white outline.....but its power was still there....and it would grow in strength if left unchecked.

"But.....your blade can in fact silence the shards, and wipe the defilement away from any soul they may have wounded.....it is a rare gift that you have, Link. An advantage seen by but a few others....."

"A few others?" Link asked, "The Master Sword has been used here before?"

Again, Geraldo shook his head solemnly, "No....but its sister has. Seek out Soul Calibur.....its energies are of your blade."

"What is Soul Cailibur?" Link pressed, pocketing the shard.

Geraldo smiled. "It is the blade that shattered Soul Edge....the sister of your sword. The Master Sword of this world, if you will."

Link smiled, "Thank you very much," he said, and was about to sheathe the Master sword, when the man reached out, and grasped Link by the hand.

"Now please, child, grant me one favor, before you depart."

Link stopped his action short. "Of course," he said.

"Release me from my curse..." he said, motioning to Link's blade.

Link smiled in understanding. The mere touch of the Master Sword should be enough, as it was all that was needed to combat the shard. Compassionately, Link lay the man's hand on the hilt of his sword. Instantly, the brilliant blue aura of the sword flashed again, throughout the room, and the man smiled a gentle smile.....and then pulled Link's blade into his chest.

It had happened before Link understood exactly what he was doing. He thought he would lay the blade on him till the curse was gone, but this man suddenly threw himself on the Blade of Evil's Bane, which flashed a brilliant white light, for several seconds, and then died down, the blade thrust silencing the evil of Soul Edge on Geraldo instantly.

The man looked up with a ragged smile into Link's stunned and horrified face, and mouthed the words, "Thank you...." as he finally slipped into death....finally freed from the agony he had lived with from the day he held the cursed sword.

Link was shocked as the man's body slid off his blade, the blood coating the sword in a bright red sheen.

A woman's startled shriek, and the sound of dishes crashing into the floor, split the air.....


	6. Fury of the Priestesses

**Soul Calibur 2**

**No Sword Forged Stronger**

Chapter 6: Flight

* * *

Sophitia couldn't believe the scene before her. She had seen light and felt the strange auras from the kitchen, but couldn't quite listen in on their conversation. By the time she had finished making the tea, however, she stepped out onto the scene of a grisly murder. Geraldo was lying dead on the floor, and the stranger, who hardly looked capable of butchering someone, standing over him, the blood on his sword and his hands accusing him of the old man's death.

"Wha...." she choked out as her fingers went numb and dropped the tray she was carrying. She suddenly realized that she simply didn't have words to use. It was as if the fighter's instinct that she had developed during her quest to destroy that sword that threatened her family had drained away in moments, leaving her to only stare, disgusted and disbelieving at the murderer and the victim, burning the scene into her mind and haunting her in her nightmares. It would be a long time before she finally was at peace with this.

Sophitia's numb speechlessness didn't last very long, however, and as the stranger raised one hand, still holding his bloody weapon in the other, her instinct returned, and she acted. For every drop of this innocent man's blood he had drawn, she would extract a thousand more. To suffer insanity and torment from Soul Edge, to have countless people seek only to take advantage of him and giving him nothing in return, and finally to be slaughtered like some lame animal in his own home.....if the only peace she could give Geraldo was justice, then by all thing holy she would give it!

Geraldo, as an amazing warrior, had possessed countless weapons. Though Sophitia had sequestered most of them away to ensure he did not hurt himself during his more insane moments, she had always kept one of them by the door, Synval, to deal with anyone who didn't want to listen when she turned them away. Though she had no shield as she usually fought with, she drew the sword and advanced. Whatever prize this man had come to claim, it would mean nothing when he was dead...

* * *

Link hadn't quite registered Sophitia's presence right when she had walked in the room, he was still just a bit busy trying to figure out WHAT happened and WHY! His hands seemed numb, and the entire scene around him almost seemed hazy and ethereal. Indeed, for a split second, Link was actually convinced this was some very bad dream. But the sticky red liquid on his hands and the smell of spilled blood snapped him back. This was reality. But Geraldo had seemed perfectly sane! The touch of the blade would have restored him, he didn't have to impale himself! Why? What was going on?!

It wasn't the sound of dishes crashing to the floor, but of a sword being taken off the wall, that snapped Link out of his shocked confusion. Oh no....

"Wait, it's not-!!" Too little far too late, Sophitia charged, and Link was forced to raise his blade in defense in order to avoid sharing the old man's fate.

The clash of steel on steel rang clearly throughout the walls of the entire cabin, and Link's instinctive reaction to counter-swing, did not help him make his case that he was innocent of this. "You don't understand!" Link shouted as Sophitia deftly twisted away from his retaliation, but, understandably perhaps, the woman really didn't seem terribly interested in listening to him at the moment...

* * *

"Silence!" Sophitia shouted, "As surely as you denied him breath, so shall I deny you yours!" she vowed, and again she swung. And again. And again. Without her shield, Sophitia felt....off, yet her blade was still a beautiful dance of steel and fury, elegant and deadly, in the hands of an expert warrior, much to Link's chagrin.

He had made the mistake of trying to back off right as Sophitia attacked, and the result was her attack striking his parry mid-step, staggering him. The second one caused him to stumble, holding himself up on a table and the third attack rang off his blade, the force of the strike spinning him and sending him face-first to the ground. Sophitia moved in for the final blow....

And her attack bounced harmlessly off his back.

Sophitia was stunned and stared momentarily in confusion as the impact caused her sword to recoil more so than she intended, giving Link time to scramble to his feet. That was when she saw what had happened. Wearing his cloak, she hadn't seen the shield on his back that Link was now drawing forth. He hadn't had it out....it was an oversight that had saved his life. Sophitia silently cursed, a rare occurrence, what god would be on this stranger's side that such luck would be to one as him?

* * *

Again, Link's life was saved by absolutely nothing more than sheer dumb luck as his undrawn shield saved his life. Luck wasn't something Link trusted to save him again, Link's luck was at least as bad as often as it was good, and despite the sentiment of the shell on his back that saved his life, he still brought it out on his arm where it could do more good. Squaring off with his enemy, Link backed slowly away. He hadn't come here intending to hurt anyone! Curse Din, why was everything just spinning completely out of control like this?!

Sophitia lunged into the attack and Link retaliated, parrying the strike with his blade and shoving against her with his shield, trying to push her away and give him some room to breathe and to think. He fought to subdue...and that put him at an extreme disadvantage against this woman who quite possibly rivaled his skill with the sword.

Sophitia wasn't so easily repelled and grabbed Link's shield, and Link found himself in a severe amount of pain when her knee hit his groin, causing him to stagger, though link's resilience was admirable as he managed to avoid doubling over completely and still held her blade in check with his...

This golden-haired warrior was extraordinarily talented as she struck again, stepping onto Link's bent knee and used it to jump, slamming her other knee square into his face, spinning midair as she lept off him, and completing the rotation by smashing the pommel of her sword into the Hylian warrior's skull. As Link reeled from the force of the blow, her back kick caught him square in the jaw with a surprising amount of strength that it didn't look like her lithe frame possessed.

Link took a series of rather powerful blows to the head, which culminated in a kick that would have knocked him clean to the floor if the wall hadn't been so close. His vision blurred, and momentarily went completely black as he lapsed out of consciousness for a mere split second. So brief was this time unconscious that when he awoke he actually had time to catch himself on one of the dressers, preventing him from toppling over and being vulnerable.

Bracing his shield, Link came to the grim realization that though this woman was acting understandably, though he wished her no harm, he couldn't die here. He could not afford to fail, countless people's lives relied on him...Ilia depended on him. And he came to the sad conclusion that he would have to fight, and probably kill, a woman who, by all appearances, was a righteous person. Her attacks showed unbelievable skill, he couldn't simply incapacitate her, not without another stroke of luck that he seemed to have run clean out of. And running wasn't an option, as she was between him and the door...

"I'm sorry...truly I am..." Link said in a shaken, almost defeated tone as he struggled to keep his voice from breaking. And then he readied his sword once more...this time no longer to defend himself, but to end his assailant's life. If he didn't fight with this blade the way it was intended when she had no such hesitation to do so, his quest would end here.

"Yeah, I'll bet you are now!" Sophitia snapped back as she retrieved a shield hanging on Geraldo's wall. There, she felt much more right in this fight.

Link stared at her with sad eyes, "That's not what I was sorry about....this is." he said, as he flipped his sword once, and moved into the attack, no longer restraining himself for her sake. His blade arced gracefully overhead, as he allowed himself the same ferocity in this battle as he had in all those in the past....

* * *

Sophitia had clearly had the upper hand in this whole fight, and with the way this stranger was fighting, it wouldn't be long before Geraldo could rest. She had no doubt that she was far beyond this murderer's skill with the blade, and with the shield she now had, she was fighting at her peak. In her eye, he was finished. Or so she thought. She blocked his overhead swing with her shield, but she was caught just a little off-guard by the boot that planted itself square into her chest. With her shield raised overhead, she was, if only for the span of a breath, open, and he certainly didn't look like he was on-balance enough to kick her.

He was.

"Oof!" Sophitia grunted as she staggered backward, as the young man swung ferociously again, with a surprising amount of strength considering how he was built. Both blows rang harmlessly off her now-braced shield, but struck with such force that her arm was as if pierced by countless needles, and she felt the force of the impact all the way down her spine.

She gasped with surprise, she had lost her advantage and was on the defense now. She'd have to changed that. She ducked under the third swing, and angel-stepped, a technique she was particularly devious with, and allowed her shield to come with a forceful uppercut.

She never got that far.

With absolutely unbelievable speed, the murderer halted his swing and brought his blade down, striking the inside of the shield, coming mere inches from severing her fingers, indeed, that was what Sophitia believed he was aiming to do, and the sword forced the shield to the floor, pinning it, and her arm along with it. She barely had time to look as the knee slammed into her face with jarring force, almost completely rendering her unconscious on the spot, and that same foot stomped down hard on the fingers clutching the antilabe of her shield, and she thought she heard her fingers break as pain like fire shot through them. Nonetheless, with his foot pinning the shield now, the green-clad man's sword was free, and if she had winced even a fraction of a second longer, taken even the span of a breath more to move, the weapon would have split her head from chin to skull.

It was at this point that Sophitia's eyes were wide with surprise, fear, and desperation. It was as if her enemy had completely transformed from a clumsy brute to a lethal and able swordsman, and suddenly Sophitia was not only no longer winning this fight, but in fear for her very life. Her heart quickened and a cold sweat formed on her forehead as she realized, with rapidly increasing horror, that she may never get home to Rothion...never sing her children to sleep ever again.

As she managed to barely dodge the sword swipe that took off a lock of her hair instead of her head, Link's other foot was also free, and as Sophitia rolled, still pinned by the shield to the floor, Link kicked hard, just below the ribs and hitting her kidneys.

Sophitia cried out in pain and doubled over on the floor, clutching her side with the one free hand she still had, and gasped desperately for breath.

As Link raised his sword overhead, Sophitia, using only the willpower to not leave her children without a mother, feebly raised her sword to defend herself. It wasn't enough, the sword strike knocked it easily out of her hand, and she was defenseless as once again, Link raised his blade...

Or was she? With a spark of inspiration she pulled hard on her shield, bearing with clenched teeth the pain that shot through her hurt fingers as she did so. Though she had her doubts on having enough strength to do so, the shield slid free taking the swordsman's foot with it. As he stumbled to regain his balance, she struck hard with the now-free shield, driving it deep into his exposed gut.

A whoosh of air made its way out of Link's lungs as Sophitia, still kneeling, punched his exposed head with her petite but surprisingly forceful fist as he doubled over. This man had an unbelievable resilience, and rather than staggering from the force of the blow, he managed to stop his body recoiling any more than just a step back. Nonetheless, it was still enough for Sophitia to recover her sword and slash at his knees, but he had too quickly regained his stance and jumped away, leaping up onto Geraldo's table.

Sophitia was short of breath and badly battered, but she was still in this fight, and rushed forward to keep the offense and struck twice. Though she attacked, he had the advantage of height and parried both attacks and counter-swung, but Sophitia sidestepped that attack and again cut at his legs, forcing the stranger to leap backwards off the table as she jumped onto it. Her sword was smaller, but now with gravity on her side, her vertical attacks rained down on his defenses with greater force, the first one knocking his sword down, the second deflected harmlessly by his large shield. She swung one last time before she realized that his sudden retaliation was not an attack against her, but against her weapon, and her blade was thrown off to the side, leaving her off-balance. Suddenly the stranger turned his back while throwing a spinning kick which swept Sophitia's legs completely out from under her. She let out a small shout of surprise at the odd feeling, she was floating. It was a sensation that lasted for less than a second, but she was just.....floating, her legs no longer supporting her, and though she was falling, she couldn't shake the strange sense of weightlessness that came over her, before gravity had its way and pulled her back down to earth, letting her back land gracelessly on the table. A cry of pain escaped her lips as the momentum bounced her off the table as suddenly as she had landed on it.. Sophitia barely registered the floor coming up to meet her head before pain swam through her skull and everything went black....

* * *

Link stood triumphant over the fallen Athenian, his breathing heavy. He wiped the sheen of sweat on his forehead as he looked to Sophitia's fallen form, and a wave of relief washed over him. He could clearly see the rise and fall of her chest. She was alive. Though he had been fighting with everything he had, swinging to kill, he still couldn't push her innocence, her lack of true malice, out of his mind. And as he walked slowly away, a burden on his heart lifted as he could breathe easily knowing that he had not been forced to slay an innocent woman.

Link knelt over Geraldo, but it was senseless, there was no helping the man. If there had been any breath in him after his body had freed itself from Link's blade, then it had left him during the fight. Link did not move to help Sophitia, lest she wake just then and fell him while he was vulnerable. As he heard Sophitia quietly moan and stir lightly, he rose slowly, knowing that he could not afford to stay here any longer. Cleaning the Blade of Evil's bane of the innocent man's blood, Link sheathed his sword and rushed out the door, away from this place, away from the tragedy that had just happened...

Link wrapped his cloak tightly around him to keep his profile low, the front of his tunic was still lightly spattered with Geraldo's blood, and he could ill-afford to be stopped or arrested now. As he exited the building and shut the door, he took off at a brisk walk down the street. He threw a glance behind him towards the house he had just left, but despite the fear that she had suddenly regained consciousness Sophitia did not suddenly run out the door to pursue him. Looking the other way, he slammed into a young woman, stumbling both of them and knocking her to the street, but he didn't even offer an apology as he marched away, much to her shouts of protest.

Tanika was at the end of the street, and judging from her response, it was clear his nervous, jumpy appearance did not escape her.

"Are you all right, Link?" Tanika asked.

It was the first time Link ever heard Tanika sound genuinely concerned, with no sarcasm or teasing at all. "I'm...fine," Link said, still somewhat shaky.

"Okay..." Tanika said slowly, clearly not believing him, but, to Link's somewhat ironic disbelief, she didn't press the issue. Instead she questioned, "Well....did you find anything out then?"

Link nodded, but it was a moment before he spoke. When he did, he spoke as if gasping for breath, and the confusion in his eyes registered that something had happened to Link that had seriously unsettled him. "Yes, yes I did. But we have to get away from here. Something terrible happened, and if we don't-"

"HEY!" A voice called out from down the street, causing Link to spin around, his eyes widening as the again locked on Sophitia!

No, it wasn't Sophitia, she looked slightly younger, her blonde hair cut much shorter, and she had something of an immature haughtiness in her bearing, but also a fierceness, that Link had not seen in the other swordswoman. The resemblance between the two however, was uncanny. Link was almost certain they were related.

The woman pointed at him and shouted at the top of her lungs, "GUARDS! Seize him! He's a murderer! Seize him!"

It was, of course, right as this whole seen had unfolded, that a dozen-strong guard patrol had just begun making their rounds on the street. Link thought they would walk over and find out what was going. They didn't, and Link was starting to think his accuser held considerable clout. At nothing more than her command, all twelve of the soldiers drew their weapons without any hesitation.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF HADES' SORRY MOTHER DID YOU DO?!" Tanika screamed accusingly, panicked, as she took an involuntary step backwards just as the patrol of soldiers ran towards the two of them.

"I'll explain it later, right now we have to get out of here!" Link shouted as he turned to run, grabbing Tanika by the hand and giving her arm a quick tug which pulled his stunned companion with him, snapping her out of her mild stupor and getting her own legs to work, and the two of them took off into the streets of Athens...

As Link and Tanika ran, Link looked behind him and nearly panicked. These guards were certainly clad in heavier gear than the two fugitives, yet they were almost certainly keeping pace, if not gaining ground. And they also weren't showing a single sign of fatigue. Clearly these were not some untrained peasant militia, but fit, strong, disciplined warriors. Link probably wouldn't have wanted to fight even one of them in open combat, much less a dozen. If they were caught, he and Tanika wouldn't stand a chance.

Link looked back ahead and he almost had a heart attack. Guards were all over this main thoroughfare! And they reacted instantly to the patrol chasing Link and Tanika. In an instant the entire main street bristled with swords, spears, and shield, and Link and Tanika were running out of options, as the guards acted expertly. A few of these giving chase, but others positioning themselves to block off other streets that Link and Tanika to go down. These guards were clearly fine professionals, and Link was afraid that they might not make it out of this one.

"Down this way!" Tanika shouted, slapping Link's shoulder and dashing down a side street, the Hylian following instantly as they went down the 'side street' which really looked like it was just another main street running a different direction, bristling with temples, shrines, houses, and another dozen blades as the guards on this street reacted to the shouts of the ones already pursuing the duo.

Link and Tanika barely managed to slip by a post of four guards who moved to block off the arch the street ran through, dashing within fraction of inches of the guards' hands who couldn't quite get in position before the two ran by.

"This isn't working!" Link shouted as Tanika whipped around grabbing a small shrine statue and pulling it down in front of their pursuers, causing the first two out in front, who were within feet of Tanika to trip, falling with the ringing sound of armor on stone. However, all the others easily lept over the fallen guards and statue, or ran around.

"I agree, we need to split up!" Tanika said as she was panting heavily, "I know you're good at losing people, I remember our little chase in Alcia, get out of here and meet up with me at The Rat Hole!"

"Wait, hold on a second, where the hell is that?!" Link asked in between breaths.

"You're clever, you'll figure it out! Now run!" Tanika said as she broke away, turning left as she lept up on the deck of a merchant's cart bristling with goods, then onto the top, and then jumping through a nearby window, the mercenary woman showing off her impressive agility.

Link made a right turn and started sprinting towards what looked like a large temple off in the distance, a place that looked like there were large crowds to hide in.

Just as he made this turn, a guard stepped out of the shadows and made a grab for Link, who ducked under his attacker's arms, but not completely. The soldier grabbed the hood of Link's cloak, but this is where Link's practicing paid off, and he hardly was even aware of his own action to reach the clasp and unfasten it, hardly slowed as the soldier fell off-balance, taking Link's cloak along with him to the dust of the city streets.

As Link dodged through the various side-streets, alleys, main roads, merchant stalls, and even tearing through some kind of inn with some very surprised patrons, he was almost constantly hounded by guards and soldiers. They never gave up they never slowed down, and there seemed no end to them! There were always at least three guards chasing after him. If he ever lost one group, there was another that had been chasing him that wasn't so easily thrown, or his escape attracted the attention of another post of fresh guards who weren't tired from the pursuit. It seemed hopeless.

Link dodged down another side street, and at first he saw that from here he could go either left or right, but.....wait....

He was now running towards what looked like a large temple. It was surrounded by a large white marble wall with no entrance on this side, but the wall was low, and that house's balcony seemed just like the right height to jump it...

Link broke through one of the side doors to the house with the considerable full force of his run, tearing it completely off its hinges, an action which no doubt terrified the young mother and her children inside, all of whom shrieked with fear at the incredibly sudden intrusion. But despite the fact that he had no doubt thrown a family into fear of their very lives, he never even slowed, sprinting up the stairs just as he heard several guards shouting orders to surround the other exits of the house.

As he heard the sound of men in armor come through the door, Link was already running out onto the balcony, his first step taking him up onto the ledge, and the next launching him into the air, easily clearing the small wall to the temple. He landed in what looked like an empty courtyard, and Link knew, as he hit the ground with a roll to soften his fall, that if he stayed here, the guards would be able to see him from the balcony. So without giving himself even a second for the rest he desperately needed, he kept running, turning right down a cobblestone path into what looked like a field of hedges.

What he thought was a side exit was actually a large garden, empty, like the courtyard, but the large hedges making it impossible to see over the wall unless you were at a considerable altitude. Content that he had, at least for the moment, lost his tenacious pursuers, Link doubled over gasping for breath, allowing himself a moment to catch his next wind. He was sure that if had to run even a minute longer, his legs would have given out...

* * *

Cassandra had been in one of her cheerier moods that day before the day began spinning wildly out of control. Knowing that her sister had a long day, Cassandra thought that for today, she'd tend to Geraldo and let Sophitia go home early. It seems no good deed goes unpunished in the cosmos, however, for just as she turned onto the street she saw someone come out of his house and grimaced. Another sword-seeker, and no doubt this man probably made his sister's mood even worse.

Cassandra momentarily felt sorry for him, no doubt from the look on his face, Sophitia had given him the full measure of her wrath, but considering the man didn't even apologize when he walked into her, her sympathy didn't last very long at all.

"Well I'm sorry, I forgot that this was YOUR road! I'll make sure to get a fanfare to announce your presence next time to all us lesser mortals!" She shouted after the rude man, but when he didn't even respond she shook his head, sighing in disgust and silently hoping that he fell in a ditch, and kept walking.

When she arrived at Geraldo's house she knocked, but strangely, there was no answer. That was....unusual. When her sister didn't answer the second time Cassandra knocked, she began to get just a bit worried, and she let herself in.

And walked into a bloodbath.

Cassandra's hand went to her mouth in horror as she saw old Geraldo lying in a puddle of blood, and the still form of her beloved sister not far at all either....Cassandra couldn't tell if she was still alive, or if any of the blood was hers...

She instinctively yanked the door back open and ran outside, and saw the green-cloaked man still at the end of the street, talking to some brown-haired woman. Her eyes narrowed and burned with dark fury at who was clearly responsible.

"HEY!" Cassandra shouted as she looked at who she knew had been responsible, he had left the house mere moments before. "Guards! Seize him! He's a murderer! Seize him!" She pointed and yelled, and watched as the entire Athenian military seemed to leap at her command. Normally she'd be mildly upset, knowing that they weren't so much showing her respect, but showing respect for her as Lady Sophitia's sister. Nonetheless, now wasn't the time to be concerned with such childish ideas, her sister needed help!

Normally Cassandra would have given chase herself, but she wanted to make sure Sophitia was all right, and rushed back into the house.

Geraldo was clearly dead, a deep wound entirely through his chest where he had been stabbed, but as she rushed to Sophitia, she sighed with some relief that most of the blood on her was not hers, likely it was Geraldo's. She was however bleeding from a deep gash on her forehead, she had some very large bruises on her side and face, and bruises on her fingers, which were also unusually pale.

"Hey sis!" Cassandra shouted, shaking her gently, causing Sophitia to moan and stir gently, and Cassandra kept trying to wake her, gently patting her cheek and shaking her shoulder. "C'mon sis, you gotta wake up!" Cassandra said, and was starting to feel tears form until Sophitia's eyes slowly, weakly, fluttered open, causing Cassandra to sigh in relief. "Geez sis!" Cassandra said, managing a scared laugh and a weak smile, "Don't scare me like that!"

"Cassandra?" Sophitia asked, clearly dazed and disoriented as she tried to stand, but Cassandra gently grasped her shoulders and forced her to sit back down.

"Easy there, sis" she said, "You're really hurt. What just happened here?!"

"The green man..." Sophitia said, grunting with pain as she gently touched her bruised side, "He...he murdered Geraldo...we can't let him get away..." She said, and Cassandra smirked.

"I wouldn't worry in the slightest, sis," she said, her smile instantly becoming much more genuine with a certain amount of satisfaction working its way into it, "I've already sicked the guards on him, he won't be going anywhere."

Sophitia sighed in relief and nodded slowly, grimacing as such a movement seemed to cause her considerable pain, "Good then," she said, again, struggling to rise once more, completely against Cassandra's effort, "We have to go after him, Geraldo deserves-ah!" She said, again wincing as pain shot up her back, and Cassandra once more forced her back into a sitting position.

"No sis, WE don't have to do ANYTHING."

"I have to do this, I have to do it for..." Sophitia trailed off, and Cassandra frowned, before looking over towards Sophitia's discarded weapons, lost in whatever fight she was in.

"No sis....I meant that I'll do it." Cassandra said, standing, "I'll hunt him, and I'll put him down like the diseased dog he is."

"No Cassandra!" Sophitia fiercely objected, "You can't-"

"You are HURT, sis!" Cassandra shot back, her smile gone and replaced with an angry glare, angry that her sister thought she couldn't handle this, but also angry at someone restraining her from seeking whoever did this to her sister, even if it was her sister herself. "You'll get killed in this state, and I am not going to face your husband and children and tellthem that I let you run off to die senselessly in a fight which we both knew you couldn't win!"

Sophitia stared silently at her stubborn sister for a long time, remembering how she felt when she realized she was losing, how she fought desperately for survival. How she was afraid that, no matter how hard she struggled, she may have been helpless to prevent this stranger from leaving her children motherless. And Cassandra was right about one thing...she couldn't run back into such a fight like this, where she would certainly never see the ones she loved ever again.

"...All right Cassandra...." She said in resignation. "But please," she pleaded, "please...be careful...and bring that murderer to justice."

Cassandra nodded slowly, rising as a pair of guards came into the house. "Don't worry sis, I WON'T let him get away with what he did here," she said as she grabbed the Synval and Sophitia yielded her shield, before turning to the pair of guards. "Make sure she's okay and make sure she gets home, please?"

One of the guards saluted smartly, "Of course, Lady Cassandra, on my honor," he said as he and his fellow warrior moved to help the fallen oracle.

Cassandra gave her sister one last look, her battered form fueling Cassandra's desire to see this man pay. And she silently swore she would not rest until whoever was responsible was drawn and quartered. And that's if she was in a good mood after all of it.

Cassandra had taken several minutes with Sophitia, so she didn't know where to start, but several guards were talking about a disturbance near the main temples. It didn't take long for her own mind to conclude that he was probably near Eurydice shrine. That would be a place of interest for anyone searching for Soul Edge as he surely must have been.

Cassandra instantly made for the shrine, maybe if she was fast enough, she could get there before he could get away.

Maybe if she was lucky, the fatal wound she would give him would take a while to kill him....

She made good time and only took about ten minutes to get there. When Cassandra arrived at the shrine it took only one request to get her inside immediately. The tenders of the grounds were not here today....this sword-seeker knew his timing well. How planned out was everything he was doing? And to come here even after having been chased through Athens....he surely was very confident.

With Synval in hand, Cassandra slowly and cautiously made her way inside. No doubt this man would not be honorable, and would kill her with her back turned without a second thought.

Her senses refined to a knife edge, she kept far away from pillars and shadowed areas, she felt like she jumped ten feet straight up when she heard the sound from one of the side courtyards, and ran in that direction just in time to catch a glimpse of green garb and blond hair disappear into the gardens. With her blade ready, Cassandra silently followed after. _'Time to feed the roses...'_

* * *

Despite Cassandra's line of thinking, Link had absolutely no idea what the hell he was doing, or what in the world he was going to do next.

After Link had finally caught some of his breath, he began looking around for a way out of here. Unfortunately, that didn't seem very easy. The wall that encircled the entire structure was too high to climb, and getting out the way he got in certainly wasn't an option unless he wanted to figure out how to defy gravity. A clawshot sure would have been helpful here. Too bad that was left behind.

Link also realized that the guards had torn his cloak from him, leaving him with a foreign green tunic with unexplained bloodstains and his pointed ears completely visible. Even when he did find his way out of here, he would no doubt feel just a teeny bit conspicuous. The main gate of a shrine such as this would surely be guarded anyways, he couldn't just waltz out of here. This was going to pose a serious problem.

Despite his desperate situation, Link couldn't help but notice the sheer beauty and artistry of the gardens. The neatly-trimmed hedges lined the wall, and several flowerbeds were in every compass direction, each one perfectly arranged, trimmed, and tended to with such care that this place looked less like a garden and more like a living painting. In the middle was a small island of marble with a fountain which spilled its water out into little aqueducts that surrounded the island and flowed throughout and watered the entire garden.

If his situation wasn't so desperate, Link would have truly loved to stay and relax here. Truly, such an amazing and beautiful work of art would have taken his breath away if he hadn't already been out of it from running from three-quarters of the Athenian military. Too bad he didn't have any time to stop and smell the roses.

Link's peace was certainly not going to last long, however.

"**CLANG!"**

Pain shot through Link's skull and blurred his vision as the force of the shield slamming into the back of his skull sent him sprawling in one of the many shallow brooks that flowed through the garden, soaking the front of his tunic. The water that splashed his face was probably all that had kept him conscious as he groaned, staggering dazedly to his feet while one of his hands gently massaged his head where he had been struck, and he turned to face that young woman that had called the guards on him. How had she known he was here?

"Draw your weapon!" She yelled, pointing her sword at him, which instantly humbled Link as he realized she could have killed him on the spot. But considering the beating Geraldo's caretaker had given him beforehand, the exhaustion of running, and the incredible headache Link just developed, he was only too happy to oblige, and his blade sang forth from its sheathe and his shield was brought to the fore, shedding the water from his sleeve as he did so. He was rather surprised he was still conscious, he could imagine that one shot she gave to him would have easily incapacitated him.

Link sized her up. She really wouldn't have appeared too dangerous without her weapons on her. Short cut blonde hair, a slender, beautiful form and fair face, she hardly seemed like a warrior. Then again, neither had Sophitia, and she almost killed him. Her white and blue tunic ended in a short skirt, with tights covering her legs. But with the way she held herself, the way she moved, it's likely that she utilized an awful lot of mobility. She even almost seemed to be dancing in place, constantly moving her body, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, as if the very notion of stillness was unthinkable.

"Look, I really don't want to fight," Link said as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Why was he feeling so sleepy? Everything seemed hazy and out-of-focus, and he almost wanted to lie down and take a nap. Just how hard had she hit him anyways?? At the very least, hard enough that he really didn't want to repeat the experience.

"You should have thought of that before you murdered an innocent man and nearly killed my sister then!" The Athenian girl called back, "I am not here to talk with you, I'm here to make sure that you do not get away with what you've done! Are you ready?"

"I didn't murder him!" Link pleaded, feeling like he really wasn't in the best shape for a fight, and if she fought anything like her sister, she'd be a dangerous opponent even when Link was at his best.

"That's a really desperate tack," Cassandra said, shaking her head, "What, are you afraid of anyone armed and young enough to fight back? Do you only kill helpless, crazy old men?" She smirked and put one of her hands on her hips, as if taunting him with her presence, "Well I'm here to graduate you! Now you can step up to murdering young ladies!"

Link was not much in the mood for sarcasm, but what bothered him was that she really wasn't any more guilty than the other woman, yet if she was even half as skilled, Link couldn't afford to hold back, especially not as battered as he was.

"Look, girl-"

"My **NAME** is Cassandra."

"Fine, Cassandra," Link pleaded, "I swear to you, what happened is an accident, I didn't intend to kill anyone, I swear I meant no harm to your sister. Today has been full of tragedies....don't add another one to it by making me defend myself."

For only a moment, Link had hope, as Cassandra hesitated, and made a strange face, as if she wasn't quite sure what to think, but it was but a second, and gone just as fast as she steeled herself.

"The only tragedy left to make today would be to let a good man's murderer walk free," She said, and cut Link off before he could speak again, "Enough! Your words are a weak shield, if you're truly as innocent as you claim, then let some higher power save you from my blade!" Cassandra yelled, and charged him.

Link again was prepared to give it his all. He raised his sword, and swung just as she got within range, forcing the swordswoman to cut her charge short, but she seemed hardly worried as she easily side-stepped around the swipe and gave an attack of her own at Link's arm, which was stopped by the Hylian shifting position and allowing his shield to absorb the impact. And then she almost casually punched him square in the face with her shield. Again. So much for not repeating the experience.

Link staggered back as, once again, his vision started swimming. That girl had a mean punch. All sarcastic observations aside, Link was beginning to feel his consciousness slipping away, and if he didn't end this fight quickly, it would certainly end him.

The shield attack gave way to a massive spinning overhead cleave, and all Link could do was weakly raise his shield in response, but that was enough, he was braced, and the sword bounced harmlessly off.

Cassandra threw more attacks and again Link blocked it with his shield, and his vision had cleared enough that he could retaliate this time around, and he swung high at her neck, which she blocked with her shield, and pushing Link's sword aside with her own, Cassandra spun and brought her shield again to strike at his head, but Link managed to bring his shield back and slammed the pommel of his sword into the oncoming shield. It was an odd way to block, but it was effective.

In his move, however, Link had forgotten to check her sword once he stopped doing so with his blade, and Cassandra's sword hilt struck his ribs with devastating force, knocking the wind from him, and she then turned that into a slash at his torso. Link recovered enough to step away, but the blade still caught the inside of his shield arm, drawing blood and cutting the strap which bound his shield to his forearm, and with a cry of pain, Link dropped his shield. Left only with the Master Sword, the Hylian warrior was in a lot of trouble. This girl, her fighting style was similar to her sister's, and though it was less refined, Cassandra made up for her lesser ability with a ferocity, a passion, that her older sibling didn't quite have so much of. It was as if she was fighting Link with as much the force of her own personality as with her weapons. Though not quite so practiced as Sophitia was, Cassandra's tenacity and fierceness made her easily just as dangerous, and had she not been slowed down by inexperience, she likely would have been an even more formidable warrior than her sister was.

As Link gripped his blade he began thinking that without his shield, he had to press the attack, or lose. Link opted for the former. Even with a wounded second hand, Link could still swing with impressive force, and Cassandra recoiled under the force of the attacks. One of Link's heavy attacks completely threw her shield off to the side, smashing through her guard, but when Link tried to capitalize on that with a slash towards her head, she slipped under his attack and smashed her shield into his gut, knocking all the wind out of the wounded warrior, and then thrusting her hip into him, backing him off, before her sword hilt struck him once more on the side of the head. That last attack sent Link toppling into the water again, and this time, he didn't get back up.

Link groaned , he couldn't see straight, his vision was alternating between blurry and completely black, and he had lost his grip on his sword, but couldn't quite figure out where he had lost it. In fact, the only thing he was aware of was that he was not standing, though he had a peculiar sensation of floating on air. All he could do was dazedly stare at Cassandra standing over him, shaking her head and snorting with derision.

"That was pathetic, really. You couldn't even land one good hit on me," She said as she stepped forward, "I really don't know how you took out my sister, but I know that I'm going to pay you back for everything you did. To her, and to Geraldo. Ready to die?"

"Not particularly..." Link mumbled. Well, if sarcasm was all he had left.....

Cassandra arched an eyebrow, "Oh well," she shrugged, and raised her blade to finish Link off.

"**TWONG!"**

Cassandra gave a shout of pain and surprise as she was thrown into the grass just beside Link, completely unconscious.

Link gaped in amazement as Tanika stood over both fallen fighters, wearing a white, hooded robe, still holding Link's heavy shield, which she had smashed across Cassandra's head to render her unconscious.

"How do YOU like it you arrogant little wench?!" Tanika angrily spat, as if the unconscious girl could hear her, before moving over to Link to help him up.

As Link grasped her arm and Tanika helped pull him unsteadily to his feet, Link managed to arch an eyebrow. "Nice timing....you seem to be getting a little personal there though, Tanika," he said, accepting the shield back, which he hung on his back. It was useless without the arm strap, which was cut in the fight. Fortunately, that was a pretty easy fix, it wouldn't be the first time he'd done it.

"Well," Tanika said as Link picked up and sheathed the Master Sword, "Let's just say you're not the first person that girl has slapped with a shield." Then she added with a mild grin, "and it kinda felt good to give her a taste of her own medicine."

Clearly Tanika had some kind of past here in Athens. Link looked over at Cassandra's fallen body with concern. "You think she's going to be all right?" Link asked, and Tanika turned and snorted at him,

"That girl sicked the guards on us and was going to kill the one person who has been even remotely helpful to me. Do you really think I care??"

"I care." Link said sternly, his unwavering gaze causing Tanika to roll her eyes and throw her hands up in frustration.

"All right, go make sure she's still breathing. And patch up that bleeding heart of yours while you're at it."

As soon as Link was confident that Cassandra's skull hadn't been crushed, he turned to see Tanika thrusting a white robe at him, similar to the one she was wearing. "What's this?" Link asked.

"It's how I got into this place," Tanika said, "and it's how we're getting out. That is, unless you'd rather be chased through Athens by the guards again."

That was something Link wasn't in any particular hurry to repeat, and he hastily donned the white robe. It was awkward, but it had a hood and it covered the bloodstains on his tunic, so he had a fair chance of going unnoticed. "All right..."

"You all ready?" Tanika asked when Link had finished. When he nodded in reply, she gave a weary smile, "Great, then let's get out of this place. Then maybe you can finally tell me just what the HELL happened back there!"

Link could only give a weary nod as the two of them began to make their way out of the gardens. He still felt unsteady on his feet and still had a strange urge to lie down right where he was and sleep. His head was throbbing with a fierce headache. He had to make a mental note, however, to ask Tanika why she was here, rather than at their meeting place.

Link tensed as they drew near the heavily-guarded main gate to the shrine, but Tanika motioned for him to relax. With their robes on and their heads bowed slightly beneath their hoods, they walked quite casually past the guards who only saw two monks leaving the grounds, and disappeared into the streets and crowds of Athens...


End file.
